80 FR 58786 - Request for Information on the State of the Offshore Renewable Energy Industry-Request for Feedback; MMAA104000

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 189 (September 30, 2015)

BOEM invites public comment on the aspects of BOEM's renewable energy program that stakeholders have found to be successful, and those program areas where there appear to be opportunities for improvement.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 189 (Wednesday, September 30, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58786-58787]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24406]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM-2015-0091]


Request for Information on the State of the Offshore Renewable 
Energy Industry--Request for Feedback; MMAA104000

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.

ACTION: Request for Feedback.

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SUMMARY: BOEM invites public comment on the aspects of BOEM's renewable 
energy program that stakeholders have found to be successful, and those 
program areas where there appear to be opportunities for improvement.

DATES: Stakeholders should submit comments electronically or postmarked 
no later than December 29, 2015.

[[Page 58787]]


ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted in one of the two following 
ways:
    1. Electronically: http://www.regulations.gov. In the entry titled 
``Enter Keyword or ID,'' search for BOEM-2015-0091. Follow the 
instructions to submit public comments in response to this document.
    2. Written Comments: In written form, delivered by hand or by mail, 
enclosed in an envelope labeled ``Comments on Request for Feedback'' 
to: Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management, 45600 Woodland Road, VAM-OREP, Sterling, Virginia 20166.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Borcherding, BOEM Office of 
Renewable Energy Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, VAM-OREP, Sterling, 
Virginia 20166, (703) 787-1826 or [email protected]; Jennifer 
Golladay, BOEM Office of Renewable Energy Programs, 45600 Woodland 
Road, VAM-OREP, Sterling, Virginia 20166, (703) 787-1688 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority

    This notice is published pursuant to subsection 8(p) of the Outer 
Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)), added by section 
388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the implementing regulations 
at 30 CFR 585.116. This regulatory provision states that the Director, 
``may . . . solicit information from industry and other relevant 
stakeholders (including State and local agencies), as necessary, to 
evaluate the state of the offshore renewable energy industry, including 
the identification of potential challenges or obstacles to its 
continued development. Such requests for information may relate to the 
identification of environmental, technical, regulatory, or economic 
matters that promote or detract from continued development of renewable 
energy technologies on the OCS. From the information received, the 
Director may evaluate certain refinements to the OCS Alternative Energy 
Program that promote development of the industry in a safe and 
environmentally responsible manner, and that ensure fair value for use 
of the Nation's OCS.''

Purpose

    Since BOEM promulgated its renewable energy regulations in 2009, 
BOEM has made substantial progress in planning and leasing for 
renewable energy development on the OCS. BOEM has issued nine 
commercial wind energy leases, generated more than $14.5 million in 
winning bids from offshore wind lease sales, and established 13 
intergovernmental task forces with Federal, State, local, and tribal 
partners to assist in identifying areas for potential renewable energy 
development.
    Now that BOEM's Renewable Energy Program has gained experience in 
implementing its regulations, it is appropriate to evaluate and assess 
our existing processes. BOEM believes stakeholder feedback is crucial 
to this effort. To that end, BOEM invites comments and feedback on any 
aspects of BOEM's Renewable Energy Program that our governmental 
partners, the offshore renewable energy industry, and other affected 
stakeholders have found to be particularly effective. At the same time, 
BOEM is also interested in constructive criticism and feedback. 
Therefore, BOEM requests recommendations for improving aspects of our 
program that stakeholders believe to be ineffective or unnecessarily 
burdensome, and requests descriptions of the benefits those program 
changes would create. BOEM will use the information submitted to inform 
our strategic planning efforts and in determining whether and how we 
should change our existing renewable energy processes, including, if 
warranted, our regulations.
    For more information about BOEM's renewable energy efforts, please 
visit: http://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy/.

Protection of Privileged or Confidential Information

    BOEM will protect privileged or confidential information that you 
submit as required by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Exemption 
4 of FOIA applies to trade secrets and commercial or financial 
information that you submit that is privileged or confidential. If you 
wish to protect the confidentiality of such information, clearly mark 
it and request that BOEM treat it as confidential. BOEM will not 
disclose such information, except as required by FOIA. Please label 
privileged or confidential information ``Contains Confidential 
Information'' and consider submitting such information as a separate 
attachment.
    However, BOEM will not treat as confidential any aggregate 
summaries of such information or comments not containing such 
information. Additionally, BOEM may not treat as confidential the legal 
title of the commenting entity (e.g., the name of your company). 
Information that is not labeled as privileged or confidential will be 
regarded by BOEM as suitable for public release.

    Dated: September 16, 2015.
Abigail Ross Hopper,
Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2015-24406 Filed 9-29-15; 8:45 am]
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