The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) gave a green light for further offshore wind development in the New York Bight Thursday, issuing a final environmental assessment (EA) with a finding of no significant impact.

The report clears the way for auctioning of up to 10 new wind energy leases, the first of which are expected early in 2022.

The EA considered potential environmental consequences of the OSW development, which includes site characterization activities (i.e., biological, archeological, geological and geophysical surveys and core samples) and site assessment activities such as the installation of meteorological buoys. The EA also considered project easements associated with each potential lease issued and grants for subsea cable corridors.

BOEM determined that the OSW work in the Bight would neither cause any significant impacts, nor constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

“Adverse effects to the environment … would range from negligible to minor,” the EA said.

New York has contracted nearly half of the 9 GW of OSW targeted for construction by 2035. (See NY Awards 2.5-GW Offshore Deal to Equinor.)

OSW developers also have begun constructing the port facilities needed to build and operate their projects, with Equinor using the Port of Albany for tower manufacturing, the nearby Port of Coeymans for turbine foundation manufacturing, and making the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal into an assembly and operations and maintenance hub. (See NY Builds OSW Ports in Brooklyn, Albany, Long Island.)