The three WEAs total approximately 356,550 acres. The first WEA (A-2) is 101,767 acres and is located 26 nautical miles (nm) from Delaware Bay. The second WEA (B-1) is 78,285 acres and about 23.5 nm offshore Ocean City, Maryland. The third WEA (C-1) is 176,506 acres and is located about 35 nm from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, offshore Virginia.
Source: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
The three final WEAs were developed following engagement and feedback from states, Tribes, local residents, ocean users, federal government partners, and other members of the public.
BOEM will publish its Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental assessment of potential impacts from offshore wind leasing in the WEAs on 1 August, which will initiate a 30-day public comment period.
Another public comment period would occur if BOEM decides to move forward with a lease sale in any of the WEAs.
As part of BOEM’s ongoing coordination with the Department of Defense (DoD) and NASA, an in-depth review of WEA B-1 will continue to determine if their activities could co-exist with wind energy development, said BOEM.
The results of the final in-depth assessment from DoD and NASA will be used to inform whether the abovementioned area should be included in a possible lease sale, which would be the next step in the wind energy process.
There would be another public comment period if BOEM decides to move forward with a proposed lease sale, and if area WEA B-1 is included in a proposed lease sale, any necessary mitigation would be identified to inform bidders in advance of a future sale, according to the press release.
In November, BOEM announced and requested public comment on eight draft WEAs on the US Outer Continental Shelf offshore North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, covering approximately 1.7 million acres.
