Renewable Energy
DOI facilitates the responsible development of renewable energy resources on the OCS through planning, stakeholder engagement, comprehensive environmental analysis, sound technical review, and ensuring activities comply with safety and environmental requirements. DOI’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Renewable Energy Program is authorized under section 388(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), which amended subsection 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. DOI renewable energy regulations (30 C.F.R. part 585) issued under this authority provide a framework for issuing leases, easements and rights-of-way for OCS activities that support production and transmission of energy from sources other than oil and natural gas.
BSEE leads the development of workplace safety and environmental compliance strategies for offshore renewable energy projects on the Federal OCS. BSEE currently has an interdisciplinary team of technical, inspection, and policy experts tasked with our renewable energy mission. Most team members work on both renewable energy and oil and gas programs. This allows our agency to be efficient in our use of resources, engage existing expertise from around the bureau, and be flexible with our use of personnel as the offshore renewable energy industry grows.
BSEE, in collaboration with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), is developing strategies to:
- Oversee safety and environmental requirements for facility design, fabrication, installation, operation, and decommissioning.
- Promote the safety of operations through regulatory requirements and programs such as safety management systems, inspections, incident reporting, and investigations.
- Enforce compliance with all applicable safety, environmental, and conservation laws and regulations.
Latest News
- NTL 2023-N01 - Reorganization of Title 30—Renewable Energy and Alternate Uses of Existing Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf
- BSEE and BOEM Formalize Offshore Renewable Energy Responsibilities
- BOEM/BSEE Renewable Energy MOA
- Report: U.S. and International Electrical Safety Standards for Offshore Wind
- Renewable Energy Policy Statement
- Block Island Wind Farm Structural Monitoring Project