Vineyard Mid-Atlantic

What's New? 

On Jan. 15, 2025, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a Construction and Operations Plan submitted by Vineyard Mid-Atlantic, LLC. The publication of the NOI opened a 45-day public comment period.

The Department of the Interior and BOEM are implementing President Trump’s memorandum temporarily halting offshore wind leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf. The memorandum also pauses new or renewed approvals, rights-of-way, permits, leases, or loans for offshore wind projects pending a review of federal wind leasing and permitting practices.

As a result, the February virtual public meetings on BOEM’s NOI to prepare an EIS for the proposed Vineyard Mid-Atlantic Project have been cancelled.

For those who intended to provide public comment, written comments can still be submitted at www.regulations.gov under Docket No. BOEM-2025-0002 until the public comment period closes on March 3rd, 2025.

For more information on the Vineyard Mid-Atlantic planning process and other relevant resources, see our Vineyard Mid-Atlantic Fact Sheet page.

Background

The Vineyard Mid-Atlantic Offshore Wind project is in one of the six lease areas within the New York Bight Wind Energy Area, and as proposed would generate over 2,000 megawatts of electricity from up to 117 wind turbines, enough to power more than 700,000 homes. The proposal includes up to two potential export cable corridors that would make landfall at Rockaway Beach, Atlantic Beach, or Jones Beach, New York.   

On February 23, 2022, BOEM held a competitive lease sale offshore New York and New Jersey. Vineyard Mid-Atlantic, LLC was identified as the winner of Lease Area OCS-A 0544 (43,056 acres) located in federal waters approximately 20 miles offshore New York and 36 miles offshore New Jersey. 

For more information on this lease area, lease history, including the Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meetings, and efforts underway for the New York Bight Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, please visit the New York Bight page. For up-to-date leasing information, including the original lease and any lease amendments that may have occurred since initial lease execution, visit the Lease and Grant Information page.

Related Press Releases

• Virtual Public Meetings Cancelled for Vineyard Mid-Atlantic Offshore Wind Project (02/04/2025)
• BOEM Begins Environmental Review of Proposed Vineyard Mid-Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Project (01/14/2025)
• Interior Department Announces Historic Wind Energy Auction Offshore New York and New Jersey (01/12/2022) 

As required by the lease, Vineyard Mid-Atlantic is required to develop publicly available communication plans. Additional information is provided below.

The Native American Tribes Communication Plan describes the strategies that the Lessee intends to use for communicating with federally recognized Tribes and outlines methods for engaging with and disseminating information to federally recognized Tribes with cultural and/or historical ties to the lease area.  

The Fisheries Communication Plan describes the strategies that the Lessee intends to use for communicating with commercial and recreational fisheries prior to and during activities in support of the submission of a plan, such as a Site Assessment Plan or Construction and Operations Plan.  The plan includes information on the distribution of “Notice to Mariners” and other outreach and coordination. Additionally, the plan includes Vineyard Mid-Atlantic’s Fisheries Liaison as a primary point of contact and a process to file complaints with Vineyard Mid-Atlantic and seek replacement of or compensation for lost gear. 

The Agency Communication Plan describes the strategies that the Lessee intends to use for communicating with federal, state, and local agencies with authority related to the lease area. The plan outlines specific methods for engaging with and disseminating information related to permits and trust resources to these agencies.

These communications plans may be updated and refined over time and the latest plans be found on Vineyard Mid-Atlantic’s webpage.
 

As required by the lease, Vineyard Mid-Atlantic is required to submit progress reports to BOEM every six months until approval of a Construction and Operations Plan. The intent of the progress report is to improve Lessee communication and transparency with Tribes and other parties, including:

• Coastal communities
• Commercial and recreational fishing industries
• Educational and research institutions
• Environmental and public interest non-governmental organizations
• Federal, state, and local agencies
• Federally recognized Tribes
• General public
• Mariners and the maritime industry
• Ocean users
• Submarine cable operators
• Underserved communities, as defined in Section 2 of Executive Order 13985

The progress reports are available below. If you have any questions, please contact Vineyard Mid-Atlantic or the BOEM project coordinator identified below.

Lessee point of contact: Geri Edens and Esther Siskind

BOEM project coordinator: Kristen Sinclair

• Progress Report 1: May 1, 2022 – October 31, 2022
• Progress Report 2: November 1, 2022 - April 30, 2023
• Progress Report 3: May 1, 2023 - October 31, 2023
• Progress Report 4: November 1, 2023 – April 30, 2024
• Progress Report 5: May 1, 2024 – October 31, 2024

On February 20, 2024, BOEM approved the Site Assessment Plan (SAP) for lease OCS-A 0544 submitted by Vineyard Mid-Atlantic LLC. The SAP approval allows for the deployment of one floating light detection and ranging (FLiDAR) buoy with a supplemental wave and current sensor installed on the seafloor, to assess meteorological and oceanographic conditions on lease area OCS-A 0544.  

For additional information, please find the approved SAP below:

• Site Assessment Plan 
• Site Assessment Plan Approval Letter 
• Conditions of SAP Approval 
   

Construction and Operations Plan for Lease OCS-A 0544 (last updated January 8, 2025)

• Vineyard Mid-Atlantic COP Volume I
• Vineyard Mid-Atlantic COP Volume II

COP Volume I Appendices

• Appendix I-A Offshore Facilities Location Information
• Appendix I-B Geophysical Survey Equipment List
• Appendix I-C Hierarchy of Standards- Confidential
• Appendix I-D Certified Verification Agent Nomination Package - Confidential
• Appendix I-E  Draft Safety Management System and Emergency Response Plan - Confidential
• Appendix I-F  Draft Oil Spill Response Plan
• Appendix I-G  Meetings and Key Correspondence with Agencies, Native American Tribes, and Municipalities
• Appendix I-H  Section 404 of the Clean Water Act Information

COP Volume II Appendices

• Appendix II-A Air Emissions Calculations and Methodology
• Appendix II-B Marine Site Investigation Report
• Appendix II-B1 Marine Site Investigation Report Figures
• Appendix II-B13 Benthic Factual Reports
• Appendix II-C Lease Area OCS-A 0544 Avian Assessment
• Appendix II-D Essential Fish Habitat Assessment
• Appendix II-E Vineyard Mid-Atlantic Acoustic and Exposure Modeling
• Appendix II-F Economic Exposure of Commercial Fisheries
• Appendix II-G Navigation Safety Risk Assessment
• Appendix II-H Aviation Impact Assessment
• Appendix II-I Aircraft Detection Lighting System (ADLS) Efficacy Analysis
• Appendix II-J Seascape, Landscape, and Visual Impact Assessment Part 1
• Appendix II-J Seascape, Landscape, and Visual Impact Assessment Part 2
• Appendix II-K Historic Resources Visual Effects Assessment - Confidential
• Appendix II-L Terrestrial Archaeological Resources Assessment – Confidential
• Appendix II-N Zooplankton and Ichthyoplankton Entrainment Assessment
• Appendix II-O Magnetic Field (MF) Modeling Analysis
• Appendix II-P Sediment Dispersion Modeling
• Appendix II-Q Marine Archaeological Resources Assessment – Confidential
• Appendix II-Q Marine Archaeological Resources Assessment Public Summary
• Appendix II-R Benthic Habitat Monitoring Plan Framework
• Appendix II-S Economic Impact Analysis – Confidential
• Appendix II-T Preliminary Cable Burial Risk Assessment – Confidential
• Appendix II-U Preliminary Fisheries Monitoring Plan

On Jan. 15, 2025, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a Construction and Operations Plan submitted by Vineyard Mid-Atlantic, LLC. The publication of the NOI opened a 45-day public comment period.

The Department of the Interior and BOEM are implementing President Trump’s memorandum temporarily halting offshore wind leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf. The memorandum also pauses new or renewed approvals, rights-of-way, permits, leases, or loans for offshore wind projects pending a review of federal wind leasing and permitting practices.

As a result, the February virtual public meetings on BOEM’s NOI to prepare an EIS for the proposed Vineyard Mid-Atlantic Project have been cancelled.

For those who intended to provide public comment, written comments can still be submitted at www.regulations.gov under Docket No. BOEM-2025-0002 until the public comment period closes on March 3rd, 2025. 

For more information on the Vineyard Mid-Atlantic planning process and other relevant resources, see our Vineyard Mid-Atlantic Fact Sheet page.