71612 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 232 / Monday, December 3, 2012 / Notices 

Dated: November 26, 2012. 

Kevin K. Washburn, 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2012–29044 Filed 11–30–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–4N–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

Land Acquisitions; Enterprise 

Rancheria of Maidu Indians of 

California 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Final Agency 

Determination. 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary— 

Indian Affairs made a final agency 

determination to acquire approximately 

40 acres of land in trust for gaming 

purposes for the Enterprise Rancheria of 

Maidu Indians of California on 

November 21, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Paula L. Hart, Director, Office of Indian 

Gaming, Bureau of Indian Affairs, MS– 

3657 MIB, 1849 C Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20240; Telephone (202) 

219–4066. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice is published in the exercise of 

authority delegated by the Secretary of 

the Interior to the Assistant Secretary— 

Indian Affairs by 209 Departmental 

Manual 8.1 and is published to comply 

with the requirements of 25 CFR Section 

151.12(b) that notice be given to the 

public of the Secretary’s decision to 

acquire land in trust at least 30 days 

prior to signatory acceptance of the land 

into trust. On November 21, 2012, the 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs 

decided to accept approximately 40 

acres of land into trust for the Enterprise 

Rancheria of Maidu Indians of 

California under the authority of the 

Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, 25 

U.S.C. 465. The 40 acres are located 

approximately 4 miles southeast of the 

community of Olivehurst, near the 

intersection of Forty Mile Road and 

State Route 65 in Yuba County, 

California, described as: 

A portion of the East half of Section 22, 

Township 14 North, Range 4 East, 

M.D.B.&M., described as follows: 

Commence at the North quarter corner of 

said Section 22 and being marked by 2 brass 

monument stamped LS3341 in a monument 

well as shown on Record of Survey No. 

2000–15 filed in Book 72 of Maps, Page 34, 

County Records; thence South 0°28′11′′ East 

along the line dividing said Section 22 into 

East and West halves 2650.73 feet to a brass 

monument stamped LS3341 in a monument 

well as shown on said Record of Survey No. 

2000–15 and marking the center of said 

Section 22; thence North 89°31′24′′ East 65.00 

feet to a point on the East right-of-way line 

of Forty Mile Road; thence North 0°28′11′′ 

West along said East right-of-way line of 

Forty Mile Road 45.53 feet to a 1⁄2 inch rebar 

with LS3751 marking the point of beginning 

thence from said point of beginning continue 

along said East right-of-way line of Forty 

Mile Road the following courses and 

distances: North 0°28′11′′ West 1133.70 feet; 

thence North 5°14′27′′ East 50.25 feet; thence 

North 0°28′31′′ West 750.00 to a 1⁄2 inch rebar 

with LS3751; thence leaving said East rightof-way line of Forty Mile Road run North 

88°00′51′′ East 1860.00 feet to a 1⁄2 inch with 

LS3751; thence South 0°28′11′′ East 1932.66 

feet to a 1⁄2 inch rebar with LS3751; thence 

South 87°59′10′′ West 1865.03 feet to the 

point of beginning. 

Said land is also shown as Parcel ‘‘C’’ on 

Certificate of Lot Line Adjustment 2002–07 

recorded June 26, 2002, Instrument No. 

2002–08119. 

Official Records. 

ANP: 014–280–095 

Dated: November 21, 2012. 

Kevin K. Washburn, 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2012–29043 Filed 11–30–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–4N–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

[NPS–NER–SARA–11235; 4901–726] 

Minor Boundary Revision of Saratoga 

National Historical Park 

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notification of boundary 

revision. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that, 

pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 460l–9(c)(1)(ii), 

the boundary of Saratoga National 

Historical Park is modified to include 

approximately 21.06 acres of adjacent 

unimproved land identified as Tract 01– 

157 (18.89 acres) and Tract 01–158 (2.17 

acres). The tracts, owned respectively by 

Open Space Conservancy, Inc., and the 

State of New York, will be donated to 

the United States. The boundary 

revision is depicted on Map No. 374/ 

112,692 and dated February 2012. The 

map is available for inspection at the 

following locations: National Park 

Service, Northeast Land Resources 

Program Center, New England Office, 

115 John Street, Fifth Floor, Lowell, 

Massachusetts 01852, and National Park 

Service, Department of the Interior, 

Washington, DC 20240. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Superintendent, Saratoga National 

Historical Park, 648 Route 32, 

Stillwater, New York 12170, telephone 

(518) 664–9821. 

DATES: The effective date of this 

boundary revision is December 3, 2012. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 16 U.S.C. 

460l–9(c)(1)(ii) provides that, after 

notifying the House Committee on 

Natural Resources and the Senate 

Committee on Energy and Resources, 

the Secretary of the Interior is 

authorized to make minor boundary 

revisions to areas of the National Park 

System. The Committees have been so 

notified. This boundary revision will 

contribute to, and is necessary for, the 

proper preservation, protection and 

interpretation of Saratoga National 

Historical Park. 

Dated: September 14, 2012. 

Dennis R. Reidenbach, 

Regional Director, Northeast Region. 

[FR Doc. 2012–29099 Filed 11–30–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–WV–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

[Docket No. BOEM–2012–0095] 

Atlantic Wind Lease Sale 2 (ATLW2) 

Commercial Leasing for Wind Power 

on the Outer Continental Shelf 

Offshore Rhode Island and 

Massachusetts—Proposed Sale Notice 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM), Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed Sale Notice for 

commercial leasing for wind power on 

the Outer Continental Shelf offshore 

Rhode Island and Massachusetts. 

SUMMARY: This document is the 

Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) for the sale 

of commercial wind energy leases on 

the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) 

offshore Rhode Island and 

Massachusetts, pursuant to BOEM’s 

regulations at 30 CFR 585.216. BOEM 

proposes to offer for sale, using a multifactor auction format, two leases that 

together encompass the Rhode Island 

and Massachusetts Wind Energy Area 

(WEA) that was identified on February 

24, 2012 (see ‘‘Areas Offered for 

Leasing’’ below for a description of the 

WEA and lease areas). In this PSN, you 

will find information pertaining to the 

areas available for leasing, proposed 

lease provisions and conditions, auction 

details, the lease form, criteria for 

evaluating competing bids, award 

procedures, appeal procedures, and 

lease execution. BOEM invites 

comments during a 60-day comment 

period following this notice. The 

issuance of the proposed leases 

resulting from this announcement 

would not constitute an approval of 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 232 / Monday, December 3, 2012 / Notices 71613 

project-specific plans to develop 

offshore wind energy. Such plans, 

expected to be submitted by successful 

lessees, will be subject to subsequent 

environmental and public review prior 

to a decision to proceed with 

development. 

DATES: Comments should be submitted 

electronically or postmarked no later 

than February 1, 2013. All comments 

received or postmarked during the 

comment period will be made available 

to the public and considered prior to 

publication of the Final Sale Notice 

(FSN). 

The end of the comment period is also 

the deadline for potential bidders to 

submit qualification materials. All 

bidders interested in participating in the 

lease sale must submit the required 

qualification materials by the end of the 

60-day comment period for this notice. 

All qualification materials must be 

postmarked no later than February 1, 

2013. 

ADDRESSES: Potential auction 

participants, Federal, state, and local 

government agencies, tribal 

governments, and other interested 

parties are requested to submit their 

written comments on the PSN in one of 

the following ways: 

1. Electronically: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. In the entry 

entitled, ‘‘Enter Keyword or ID,’’ enter 

BOEM–2012–0095 and then click 

‘‘search.’’ Follow the instructions to 

submit public comments. 

2. Written Comments: In written form, 

delivered by hand or by mail, enclose 

comments in an envelope labeled 

‘‘Comments on Rhode Island and 

Massachusetts PSN’’ to: Office of 

Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of 

Ocean Energy Management, 381 Elden 

Street, HM 1328, Herndon, Virginia 

20170. 

3. Qualification Materials: Those 

submitting qualification materials 

should contact Jessica Bradley, BOEM 

Office of Renewable Energy Programs, at 

381 Elden Street, HM 1328, Herndon, 

Virginia 20170, (703) 787–1320, or 

jessica.bradley@boem.gov. 

If you wish to protect the 

confidentiality of your comments or 

qualification materials, clearly mark the 

relevant sections and request that BOEM 

treat them as confidential. Please label 

privileged or confidential information 

with the caption, ‘‘Contains 

Confidential Information’’ and consider 

submitting such information as a 

separate attachment. Treatment of 

confidential information is addressed in 

the section of this PSN entitled, 

‘‘Protection of Privileged or Confidential 

Information.’’ Information that is not 

labeled as privileged or confidential will 

be regarded by BOEM as subject to 

public release. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jessica Bradley, BOEM Office of 

Renewable Energy Programs, 381 Elden 

Street, HM 1328, Herndon, Virginia 

20170, (703) 787–1320 or 

jessica.bradley@boem.gov. 

Authority: This PSN is published pursuant 

to subsection 8(p) of the OCS Lands Act (43 

U.S.C. 1337(p)) (‘‘the Act’’), as amended by 

section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

(EPAct), and the implementing regulations at 

30 CFR Part 585, including 30 CFR 585.211 

and 585.216. 

Background: The proposed lease areas 

are the same as the WEA that BOEM 

announced on February 24, 2012, (see 

Area Identification announcement 

available at: http://www.boem.gov/ 

Renewable-Energy-Program/StateActivities/Rhode-Island.aspx). BOEM 

published the Notice of Availability 

(NOA) for the Commercial Wind Lease 

Issuance and Site Assessment Activities 

on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf 

(OCS) Offshore Rhode Island and 

Massachusetts Environmental 

Assessment (EA) (77 FR 39508) on July 

3, 2012. The EA may be found at: 

http://www.boem.gov/RenewableEnergy-Program/Smart-from-the-Start/ 

Index.aspx. BOEM is currently 

considering the comments on the EA 

and possible revisions. 

Ongoing consultations concurrent 

with the preparation of the EA include 

consultations under the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA), Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (MSFCMA), Section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act 

(NHPA), and the Coastal Zone 

Management Act (CZMA). Once BOEM 

has completed the EA, and if the EA 

concludes that the proposed action will 

not cause significant environmental 

impacts, BOEM will publish a Finding 

of No Significant Impact (FONSI). 

The proposed lease areas identified in 

this PSN match the Rhode Island and 

Massachusetts WEA described as the 

proposed action and preferred 

alternative in the EA. In the event that 

BOEM decides to substantially revise 

the terms and conditions outlined 

within this PSN as a result of the 

completion of the environmental review 

and consultation process, which will 

not occur until after the publication of 

this PSN, BOEM will publish a second 

PSN that includes the revised terms and 

conditions and publish it in the Federal 

Register for a 60-day public comment 

period before moving forward with 

publication of a Final Sale Notice (FSN). 

Additional environmental reviews will 

be conducted upon receipt of the 

lessees’ proposed project-specific plans, 

such as a Site Assessment Plan (SAP) or 

Construction and Operations Plan 

(COP). 

This PSN was developed in 

consultation with the joint Rhode Island 

and Massachusetts Renewable Energy 

Task Force. BOEM received comments 

from several Task Force members 

during the development of this PSN, 

including from the Rhode Island State 

Energy Office, the City of New Bedford 

Economic Development Commission, a 

Task Force member from the Town of 

Aquinnah, and the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration’s 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS). In addition, the Rhode Island 

Coastal Resources Management Council 

forwarded to BOEM comments on the 

draft PSN and EA that it had received 

from members of the Habitat Advisory 

Board established by the State. The 

Rhode Island State Energy Office 

requested that BOEM consider nonmonetary factors in the multiple auction 

format and recommended that the Joint 

Development Agreement (JDA) executed 

by the State of Rhode Island be awarded 

a minimum 25 percent discount in the 

auction. Additional information on the 

JDA can be found in this notice in the 

section entitled, ‘‘Multiple Factor 

Definitions.’’ A member of the Rhode 

Island Habitat Advisory Board 

expressed concern about publication of 

the PSN before a FONSI determination 

has been made; reiterated concerns 

about areas within the WEA where 

glacial moraines are located; proposed 

additional requirements for protection 

of endangered species, in particular the 

North Atlantic Right Whale; and 

requested that BOEM consider 

implementing a discount for nonmonetary values in the auction format. 

The additional measures proposed for 

North Atlantic Right Whale protection 

are similar to those previously 

developed by a consortium of 

nongovernmental organizations and 

wind industry representatives and 

presented to BOEM for consideration in 

issuing commercial wind leases off New 

Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and 

Virginia. A Task Force member from the 

Town of Aquinnah suggested that 

BOEM consider proposals that provide 

community benefits in the auction 

format and expressed concern with the 

requirements for protection of North 

Atlantic Right Whales. The City of New 

Bedford Economic Development 

Commission expressed concern 

regarding the inclusion of a discount in 

the auction format for the State of Rhode 

Island’s preferred developer. NMFS 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
71614 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 232 / Monday, December 3, 2012 / Notices 

provided recommendations for language 

to be clarified in the PSN, as well as in 

Addendum C of the proposed lease. 

Financial Terms and Conditions: This 

section provides an overview of the 

basic annual payments required of the 

Lessee, which will be fully described in 

the lease. 

Rent: The first year’s rent payment for 

the entire leased area is due within 45 

calendar days of the date the winning 

bidder receives the lease for execution. 

Thereafter, annual rent payments are 

due on the anniversary of the lease 

Effective Date until commercial 

operations on the lease commence, i.e., 

when the generation of electricity 

begins. The annual rental rate will be 

$3.00 per acre, and this rate will be 

applicable to the entire leased area. For 

example, for a lease the size of 164,750 

acres (the size of the entire WEA), the 

amount of rent payment will be 

$494,250 per year. The Lessee also must 

pay rent for any project easement 

associated with the lease commencing 

on the date that BOEM approves the 

COP (or modification) that describes the 

project easement. Annual rent for a 

project easement, 200-feet wide and 

centered on the transmission cable, is 

$70.00 per statute mile. For any such 

additional acreage required, the Lessee 

must also pay the greater of $5.00 per 

acre per year or $450.00 per year. 

Operating Fee: The initial annual 

operating fee is prorated and due within 

45 calendar days after the 

commencement of commercial 

operations on the lease, and subsequent 

payments are due on or before each 

Lease Anniversary annually thereafter. 

The annual operating fee payment is 

calculated by multiplying an operating 

fee rate by the imputed wholesale 

market value of the projected electric 

power production. For the purposes of 

this calculation, the imputed market 

value is the product of the project’s 

annual nameplate capacity, the total 

number of hours in the year (8,760), an 

annual capacity factor, and the 

historical, annual average regional 

wholesale power price index. 

Operating Fee Rate: The operating fee 

rate is 0.02 through the eighth year of 

commercial operations on the lease. 

Starting in the ninth year of commercial 

operations, the operating fee rate is 0.04 

through the remaining term of the lease. 

Nameplate Capacity: The nameplate 

capacity at the start of each year of 

commercial operations on the lease as 

specified in the COP will be used to 

allow for installation schedules or 

repowering, recognizing that a project’s 

designed capacity may not be fully 

available in every year. Using the 

capacity at the beginning of each year, 

as specified in the COP, adjusts the 

nameplate capacity for these schedules. 

Capacity Factor: The capacity factor 

for the first six full years of commercial 

operations on the lease is set to 0.4 to 

allow for one year of installation and 

testing followed by five years at full 

availability. At the end of the sixth full 

year, the capacity factor will be adjusted 

to reflect the performance over the 

previous five years based upon the 

actual metered electricity generation at 

the delivery point to the electrical grid. 

Similar adjustments to the capacity 

factor will be made once every five 

years thereafter. The maximum change 

in the capacity factor from one period to 

the next will be limited to plus or minus 

10 percent of the previous period’s 

value. 

Wholesale Power Price Index: The 

wholesale power price is determined at 

the time each annual operating fee 

payment is due. The wholesale power 

price will be based on the weighted 

average of the inflation-adjusted peak 

and off-peak spot price indices for the 

Northeast—Mass Hub power market for 

the most recent year of data available as 

reported by the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (FERC) as part 

of its annual State of the Markets Report 

with specific reference to the summary 

entitled ‘‘Electric Market Overview: 

Regional Spot Prices.’’ 

Financial Assurance: BOEM will base 

the amounts of all SAP, COP, and 

decommissioning financial assurance 

requirements on estimates of the cost to 

meet all accrued lease obligations. The 

amount of supplemental and 

decommissioning financial assurance 

requirements will be determined on a 

case-by-case basis. The amount of 

financial assurance required to meet all 

lease obligations includes: 

• The projected amount of rent and 

other payments due to the Federal 

Government over the next 12 months; 

• Any past due rent and other 

payments; 

• Other monetary obligations (e.g., 

fines, liens); and 

• The estimated cost of facility 

decommissioning. 

Prior to lease issuance the Lessee 

must provide: (1) An initial leasespecific bond or other approved means 

of meeting the Lessor’s initial financial 

assurance requirements in the amount 

of $100,000; and (2) a supplemental 

bond or other approved means of 

meeting the Lessor’s supplemental 

financial assurance requirements in the 

amount of $292,494 for Lease OCS A– 

0486, and $201,756 for Lease OCS A– 

0487, to guarantee lease obligations 

from rental payments due to the 

Government over the first 12 months of 

the lease. Additional financial 

assurances will be required to address 

decommissioning, operating fee, and 

other obligations as the lease progresses. 

The financial terms can be found in 

Addendum ‘‘B’’ of the proposed lease, 

which BOEM has made available with 

this notice on its Web site at: http:// 

boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/ 

State-Activities/Rhode Island.aspx. 

Place and Time: The auction will be 

held online. The time that the auction 

will be held will be published in the 

FSN. The date has not been finalized at 

this time, but will be no earlier than 30 

days after publication of the FSN in the 

Federal Register. 

Public Seminar: BOEM will host a 

public seminar to introduce potential 

bidders and other stakeholders to the 

auction format provided in the PSN, 

explain the auction rules, and 

demonstrate the auction process 

through meaningful examples. The time 

and place of the seminar will be 

announced by BOEM and published on 

the BOEM Web site. No registration or 

RSVP will be required in order to 

attend. 

Mock Auction: BOEM will host a 

mock auction to educate qualified 

bidders about the procedures to be 

employed during the auction and to 

answer questions. The mock auction 

will take place between the publication 

of the FSN in the Federal Register and 

the date of the auction. Following 

publication of the FSN in the Federal 

Register, details of the mock auction 

will be distributed to those eligible to 

participate in the auction. All qualified 

bidders that intend to participate in the 

auction are strongly encouraged to 

participate in the mock auction. Bidders 

will be eligible to participate in the 

Mock Auction if they have been legally, 

technically, and financially qualified, as 

discussed below. 

Bid Deposit and Minimum Bid: A bid 

deposit is an advance cash deposit 

submitted to BOEM. No later than 14 

calendar days following publication of 

the FSN, each bidder must have 

submitted a bid deposit (equal to a 

minimum cash bid) of at least $5.00 per 

acre, or fraction thereof, offered for sale. 

Approximately 97,498 acres would be 

offered for sale as Lease OCS–A 0486 

(North Zone), and approximately 67,252 

acres would be offered as Lease OCS–A 

0487 (South Zone) in this auction. The 

bid deposit amount of $5.00 per acre 

represents the minimum bid that BOEM 

proposes for this lease sale. Therefore, 

the minimum acceptable bid will be 

$487,490 for Lease OCS–A 0486 (North 

Zone), and $336,260 for Lease OCS–A 

0487 (South Zone). The required bid 

deposit for any participant intending to 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 232 / Monday, December 3, 2012 / Notices 71615 

bid on both leases will be $5.00 per acre 

for the combined total acreage being 

offered, which equals $823,750. Any 

participant intending to bid on only one 

of the leases must submit a bid deposit 

of no less than $5.00 per acre for the 

larger area being offered (Lease OCS–A 

0486 (North Zone)), which equals 

$487,490. Any bidder that fails to 

submit the bid deposit by the deadline 

described herein may be prevented by 

BOEM from participating in the auction. 

Bid deposits will be accepted online via 

pay.gov. 

Following publication of the FSN, 

each bidder must complete the Bidder’s 

Financial Form included in the FSN. 

BOEM has made a copy of the proposed 

form available with this notice on its 

Web site at: http://boem.gov/RenewableEnergy-Program/State-Activities/Rhode 

Island. This form requests that each 

bidder designate an email address, 

which the bidder should use to create 

an account in pay.gov. After 

establishing the pay.gov account, 

bidders may use the Bid Deposit Form 

on the pay.gov Web site to submit a 

deposit. 

Following the auction, bid deposits 

will be applied against any bonus bids 

or other obligations a successful bidder 

owes to BOEM. If the bid deposit 

exceeds the bidder’s total financial 

obligation, the balance of the bid 

deposit will be refunded to the bidder. 

BOEM will refund the bid deposit to 

unsuccessful bidders. 

Areas Offered for Leasing: The 

proposed lease area was identified as 

the Rhode Island and Massachusetts 

Wind Energy Area (WEA) on February 

24, 2012 (see Area Identification 

announcement available at: http:// 

www.boem.gov/Renewable-EnergyProgram/State-Activities/RhodeIsland.aspx). The proposed lease area 

offshore Rhode Island and 

Massachusetts comprises 13 whole OCS 

blocks and 26 sub-blocks encompassing 

164,750 acres. The area available for 

sale will be auctioned as two leases, 

Lease OCS–A 0486 (North Zone) and 

Lease OCS–A 0487 (South Zone). The 

North Zone consists of 97,498 acres, and 

the South Zone consists of 67,252 acres. 

If there are adequate bids, two leases 

will be issued pursuant to this lease 

sale. A description of the lease areas and 

lease activities can be found in 

Addendum ‘‘A’’ of the proposed leases, 

which BOEM has made available with 

this notice on its Web site at: http:// 

boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/ 

State-Activities/Rhode Island.aspx. 

The two areas that will be offered for 

leased within the Rhode Island/ 

Massachusetts WEA are the North Zone 

and the South Zone, which are 

separated by an exclusion area 

surrounding Cox Ledge. This division 

into two Zones is based on the 

consideration of a number of factors, 

including: the prevailing winds as 

demonstrated in the RI Ocean Special 

Area Management Plan, which is 

available at: http://www.crmc.ri.gov/ 

samp_ocean/finalapproved/ 

RI_Ocean_SAMP.pdf; the project scale 

requirements under state laws and 

regulations (including Rhode Island 

General Laws, Chapter 39–26.1); the 

JDA executed by the State of Rhode 

Island; developer responses to the 

August 2011 Call for Information and 

Nominations; allowance for buffer zones 

between projects; and proximity to 

onshore infrastructure and markets. 

Each zone is expected to be capable 

of supporting a project of at least 350 

MW in nameplate capacity. The North 

Zone may be capable of supporting over 

1,000 MW and is expected to have the 

advantage of closer proximity to 

onshore infrastructure. However, the 

South Zone could potentially support a 

project of 1,000 MW and is expected to 

be attractive due to its expansion 

opportunities to the south and east in 

potential future lease sales. 

Map of the Area Offered for Leasing: 

A map of the areas and a table of the 

boundary coordinates in X, Y (eastings, 

northings) UTM Zone 18, NAD83 Datum 

and geographic X, Y (longitude, 

latitude), NAD83 Datum can be found at 

the following URL: http://boem.gov/ 

Renewable-Energy-Program/StateActivities/Rhode Island.aspx. 

A large scale map of these areas, 

showing boundaries of the area with 

numbered blocks, is available from 

BOEM at the following address: Bureau 

of Ocean Energy Management, Office of 

Renewable Energy Programs, 381 Elden 

Street, HM 1328, Herndon, Virginia 

20170, Phone: (703) 787–1300, Fax: 

(703) 787–1708. 

Withdrawal of Blocks: BOEM reserves 

the right to withdraw areas from this 

lease sale prior to the execution of a 

lease. 

Lease Terms and Conditions: BOEM 

has included proposed lease terms and 

conditions for OCS commercial wind 

leases in the Rhode Island and 

Massachusetts WEA in Addendum ‘‘C’’ 

of the proposed lease. BOEM reserves 

the right to apply additional terms and 

conditions that are consistent with the 

terms of the lease to activities 

conducted on the lease incident to any 

future approval or approval with 

modifications of a SAP and/or COP. The 

proposed lease, including Addendum 

‘‘C’’, is available on BOEM’s Web site at: 

http://boem.gov/Renewable-EnergyProgram/State-Activities/Rhode 

Island.aspx. The proposed lease 

consists of an instrument with 18 

sections and the following six 

attachments: 

Addendum ‘‘A’’ (Description of 

Leased Area and Lease Activities); 

Addendum ‘‘B’’ (Lease Term and 

Financial Schedule); 

Addendum ‘‘C’’ (Lease Specific 

Terms, Conditions, and Stipulations); 

Addendum ‘‘D’’ (Project Easement); 

Addendum ‘‘E’’ (Rent Schedule); and 

Appendix A (High Resolution 

Geophysical Surveys and Analysis for 

the Identification or Reporting of 

Archaeological Resources). 

Addenda ‘‘A’’, ‘‘B’’, and ‘‘C’’ provide 

detailed descriptions of lease terms and 

conditions. 

Addenda ‘‘D’’ and ‘‘E’’ will be 

completed at the time of COP approval. 

After considering comments on the 

PSN and these proposed provisions, 

BOEM will publish final lease terms and 

conditions in a FSN. 

The lease form included as part of this 

proposed lease has been updated since 

its publication on February 3, 2012. A 

discussion of specific changes to the 

lease form is available separately on 

BOEM’s Web site at: http:// 

www.boem.gov/Renewable-EnergyProgram/Regulatory-Information/ 

Index.aspx#Lease_Forms. 

Plans: Pursuant to 30 CFR 585.601, 

the leaseholder must submit a SAP 

within six months of lease issuance. If 

the leaseholder intends to continue its 

commercial lease with an operations 

term, the leaseholder must submit a 

COP at least six months before the end 

of the site assessment term. 

Pursuant to 30 CFR 585.629, a 

leaseholder may include in its COP a 

request to develop its commercial lease 

in phases. If a leaseholder requests and 

BOEM approves phased development, 

this approval will not affect the length 

of the preliminary, site assessment, or 

commercial terms offered under the 

lease. The COP must describe in 

sufficient detail the activities proposed 

for all phases of commercial 

development, including a schedule 

detailing the proposed timelines for 

phased development. Further, the COP 

must include the results of all site 

characterization surveys, as described in 

30 CFR 585.626(a), necessary to support 

each phase of commercial development. 

The requirements of the SAP remain the 

same as they would under a non-phased 

development scenario, and must meet 

the requirements set forth in the 

regulatory provisions in 30 CFR 

585.605–613 for the full commercial 

lease area. 

Qualifications—Who May Bid: Any 

potential bidder that has not already 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
71616 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 232 / Monday, December 3, 2012 / Notices 

submitted a complete set of 

qualification materials must do so by 

the end of the comment period of this 

PSN. To be eligible to participate in the 

auction, each potential bidder must be 

legally, technically and financially 

qualified under BOEM’s regulations at 

30 CFR 585.106–107 by the time the 

FSN for this sale is published. Please 

note that technical and financial 

qualifications are lease specific; it is not 

sufficient to have been technically and 

financially qualified to pursue a project 

offshore another state. 

Guidance and examples of the 

appropriate documentation 

demonstrating your legal qualifications 

can be found in Chapter 2 and 

Appendix B of Guidelines for the 

Minerals Management Service 

Renewable Energy Framework, available 

on BOEM’s Web site at: http:// 

www.boem.gov/Renewable-EnergyProgram/Regulatory-Information/ 

Index.aspx. Guidance regarding how 

you may demonstrate your technical 

and financial qualifications is provided 

in a document entitled, Qualification 

Guidelines to Acquire and Hold 

Renewable Energy Leases and Grants 

and Alternate Use Grants on the U.S. 

Outer Continental Shelf: (http:// 

boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/ 

Regulatory-Information/ 

QualificationGuidelines-pdf.aspx). 

BOEM strongly recommends that you 

refer to this guidance before submitting 

your qualification materials, as the 

guidance has been updated recently. 

You must submit the documentation 

necessary to demonstrate your legal, 

technical, and financial qualifications to 

BOEM in both paper and electronic 

formats. BOEM considers an Adobe PDF 

file stored on a compact disc (CD) to be 

an acceptable format for submitting an 

electronic copy. In your qualification 

materials, provide a general description 

of the project you would like to 

construct on the lease area sought in 

this sale, including estimates of the 

project area and total nameplate 

capacity of the proposed facilities. 

Please note that it may take a number 

of weeks for you to establish your legal, 

technical, and financial qualifications. 

We advise potential bidders planning to 

participate in this sale to establish their 

qualifications promptly. It is not 

uncommon for BOEM to request 

additional materials establishing 

qualifications following an initial 

review of the qualifications package. 

BOEM will find any potential bidder 

whose qualification package is 

incomplete at the time the FSN for this 

sale is published in the Federal Register 

to have failed to establish its 

qualifications to participate in the sale, 

and, therefore, will be unable to 

participate in the sale. 

Auction Procedures 

Summary 

For the sale of these leases, BOEM 

will use a multi-factor auction format, 

with a multiple-factor bidding system. 

Under this system, BOEM may consider 

a combination of monetary and 

nonmonetary factors, or ‘‘variables,’’ in 

determining the outcome of the auction. 

There will be two such variables 

considered by BOEM in this auction— 

(1) a cash bid, and (2) a credit if a bidder 

holds a Joint Development Agreement 

(JDA) or a Power Purchase Agreement 

(PPA), as defined below. A multi-factor 

auction, wherein both monetary and 

nonmonetary bid variables are 

considered, is provided for under 

BOEM’s regulations at 30 CFR 

585.220(a)(4) and 585.221(a)(6). 

Under a multiple-factor bidding 

format, as set forth at 30 CFR 

585.220(a)(4), BOEM may consider 

many factors as part of a bid. The 

regulation states that one bid proposal 

per bidder will be accepted, but does 

not further specify the procedures to be 

followed in the multiple-factor format. 

This multiple-factor format is intended 

to allow BOEM flexibility in 

administering the auction and in 

balancing the variables presented. The 

regulation leaves to BOEM the 

determination of how to administer the 

multiple-factor auction format in order 

to try to best achieve BOEM’s goals of 

encouraging bidding, enhancing price 

discovery, and ensuring that BOEM 

receives a fair return for the leases 

auctioned, as required by the Outer 

Continental Shelf Lands Act, (OCSLA), 

43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(2)(A). 

BOEM’s regulations at 30 CFR 

585.220(a)(4) permit a multi-round 

auction provided only one cash bid 

proposal per zone or set of zones per 

bidder, per round of the auction, is 

accepted. This regulation presents an 

administratively efficient auction 

process. It also takes advantage of the 

flexibility built into the regulation by 

enabling BOEM to benefit from both the 

consideration of more than one factor 

and the price discovery involved in 

successive rounds of bidding. 

The auction will be conducted in a 

series of rounds. At the start of each 

round, BOEM will state an asking price 

for each zone being offered. In each 

round, each bidder will have the 

opportunity to submit one cash bid per 

zone at the asking price. A bid 

submitted at the asking price in a 

particular round is referred to as a ‘‘live 

bid’’ and a live bid signifies that the 

bidder is willing to pay that auction 

round’s asking price for a particular 

zone. A bidder must submit a live bid 

on at least one of the zones in each 

round to remain ‘‘active’’ into the next 

round of the auction. As long as at least 

two live bids are submitted at the asking 

price on any zone in a particular round, 

the auction continues, and the next 

round is held. If there is only one live 

bid for a zone, and that bidder is not 

bidding on the other zone, BOEM 

automatically carries that bid forward 

into the next round. If BOEM carries a 

bid forward, the bid will be considered 

the equivalent of a live bid for the 

purpose of determining bidder 

eligibility. If there is more than one live 

bid for a zone, the stated price for that 

zone is raised in each subsequent round 

until there is only one live bid or no live 

bids for that zone. The auction 

concludes when there are one or zero 

live bids for each zone. 

The series of rounds and the 

escalating asking prices set by BOEM 

will allow consideration of the first 

variable—the cash bid. BOEM will set 

one asking price per zone in each round. 

Each bidder will either place a live bid 

at this asking price or not, but no bidder 

will be permitted more than one bid per 

zone in any one round. Thus, bidders 

will not be outbidding each other in 

each round, but will be limited to one 

bid per zone per round, at the asking 

price, (or at a price subject to a credit 

due to the second variable, as explained 

below). 

The second variable—a credit for 

holding a JDA or PPA of at least 350 

megawatts each—will be applied 

throughout the auction rounds as a form 

of imputed credit against the amount of 

a cash bid proposal made by a particular 

bidder in a particular round. A bidder 

holding only a qualified JDA will 

receive a credit of 15%, a bidder 

holding only a qualified PPA will 

receive a credit of 25 percent, and a 

bidder that holds both will receive the 

larger of the two possible credit 

amounts, i.e. 25 percent. The total 

percentage credit is limited to 25 

percent in the auction to address 

concerns about creating too large an 

advantage to certain bidders in the 

auction, as discussed in BOEM’s 

Auction Format Information Request (76 

FR 76174). BOEM considered the 

overall impact and relative strength of 

the JDA compared to that of a PPA in 

enabling a lessee to install a viable 

project on the OCS in setting the JDA 

credit at 15 percent. In the case of a 

bidder holding a credit and bidding on 

more than one zone, the credit will be 

applied only to the zone being offered 

at the higher asking price. By way of 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 232 / Monday, December 3, 2012 / Notices 71617 

example, a bidder holding a qualified 

JDA and bidding on two zones, one with 

an asking price of $1,000,000 and one 

with an asking price of $2,000,000, will 

receive a 15 percent credit against the 

higher priced $2,000,000 bid in that 

round, obligating the bidder to a 

payment of $1,700,000, or 15 percent 

less than the asking price for that zone, 

and $1,000,000 for the other zone, equal 

to the asking price for that other zone. 

Each bid in each round will thus be 

considered based on both factors—the 

amount of the cash bid proposed and 

the amount of a potential credit for 

holding a qualified JDA or PPA. 

BOEM’s regulations concerning multifactor bidding require the use of a panel 

30 CFR 585.222 (d), whose members are 

selected by the agency, to help weigh 

the variables considered in such an 

auction. The regulations state that 

BOEM ‘‘will determine the winning bid 

for proposals submitted under the 

multiple-factor bidding format on the 

basis of selection by the panel * * *.’’ 

30 CFR 585.224(h). The panel will 

evaluate any purported JDA or PPA 

proffered by a bidder to determine 

whether it is acceptable to BOEM, and 

therefore whether it will qualify for a 

credit for its holder. The panel will 

determine the winning bids for each 

zone on the basis of the Stage 1 and 

Stage 2 rules set forth herein. 

Details of the Auction Process 

Bidding—Live Bids 

Each bidder is allowed to submit live 

bids on one or more zones based on its 

eligibility at the opening of each round. 

A bidder’s initial eligibility to bid on 

either one or both zones in the opening 

round of the auction is determined 

based on the amount of the bid deposit 

submitted by the bidder prior to the 

auction. The required deposit for 

bidding on one zone is equal to the 

minimum bid of the zone with the most 

acreage. If a bidder wants to bid on both 

zones, the bidder is required to submit 

a deposit equal to the sum of the 

minimum bids for both zones. As the 

auction continues, a bidder’s eligibility 

is determined by the number of live bids 

submitted in the round prior to the 

current round. 

Before each round of the auction, 

BOEM raises the asking price for each 

zone that received more than one live 

bid in the previous round, while the 

asking price for zones that received one 

or no live bids in the previous round 

remains the same. Bidders must submit 

a live bid in each round of the auction 

(or have a bid automatically carried 

forward by BOEM) to remain active and 

continue bidding in future rounds. 

Between rounds, all bidders who are 

still active are informed, with respect to 

each zone, of the asking price for the 

upcoming round and the number of live 

bids submitted in the previous round. In 

cases where one of the zones which a 

bidder has bid on in the previous round 

has competition, i.e., the zone received 

two or more live bids, the bidder must 

independently submit bids identifying 

which zones it continues to be 

interested in acquiring in the current 

round. In cases where the bidder has bid 

on only one zone in the previous round 

and there is no competition for that 

zone, i.e., only that bidder has 

submitted a live bid, BOEM will 

automatically carry forward the bid for 

that bidder by recording that the bidder 

‘‘submitted’’ a live bid in the current 

round on that zone at the previous 

round’s asking price. In these latter 

cases i.e., when the bidder has bid on 

only one zone and BOEM has carried 

that bid forward, switching bids to other 

zones or submitting an intra-round bid 

are prohibited, as is reducing the 

number of zones on which the bidder 

has bid. Additional auction rounds 

occur as long as at least one of the zones 

offered receives two or more live bids in 

the previous round. The auction 

concludes at the end of the round in 

which the number of live bids received 

on each zone falls to one or zero. 

A bidder may not increase the number 

of zones it bids on from one round to 

a subsequent round. Provided one or 

more live bids were received on at least 

one of the zones that the bidder itself 

has bid on in the previous round, a 

bidder may voluntarily reduce the 

number of the zones it bids on from one 

round to the next, switch its bids from 

one zone to another, or submit an 

‘‘intra-round’’ bid in conjunction with 

reducing its eligibility as to the number 

of zones on which it can bid in future 

rounds. (Intra-round bids are discussed 

below.) Otherwise, in general, if there 

are no other bidders on any of the zones 

on which the bidder has bid in the 

previous round, the bidder must 

maintain its existing bids and BOEM 

will automatically record the bidder as 

having ‘‘submitted’’ its standing live 

bids at the previous round’s asking 

price. For this two-zone sale, however, 

this situation can only occur for the case 

of one zone, because if there had been 

only a single live bid on each zone in 

the previous round, the auction would 

have closed. 

Thus, if a bidder placed a live bid for 

both zones in the previous round, it can 

submit live bids for both zones in the 

current round. The bidder also has the 

option of submitting a live bid for only 

one of the zones or none of the zones 

in the current round. 

If a bidder placed a live bid on only 

the South Zone in the previous round, 

and there was at least one other 

competing bid for that zone, then the 

bidder can submit a live bid on either 

the North or South Zone in the current 

round, or not bid on either zone, but it 

cannot bid on both zones. If there are no 

competing bids on the South Zone, the 

bidder cannot switch its bid to the 

North Zone or reduce its eligibility by 

not bidding on either zone. Once a 

bidder fails to submit a live bid for any 

zone (or have a bid carried forward by 

BOEM), it must depart the auction and 

will no longer be allowed to submit bids 

for any zone in any subsequent round. 

Bidding—Intra-Round Bids 

Subject to certain conditions, bidders 

are allowed to submit an ‘‘intra-round’’ 

bid in any round after the first round. 

Intra-round bids are similar to what 

were termed ‘‘exit bids’’ in BOEM’s 

Auction Format Information Request (76 

FR 76174). In contrast to exit bids, 

however, intra-round bids do not 

necessarily require that the bidder exit 

the auction—only that the number of 

live bids that the bidder is eligible to 

submit must be reduced. 

An intra-round bid consists of a single 

offer price for exactly the same zone or 

set of zones that the bidder placed live 

bids on in the previous round. The 

single offer price must be greater than 

the sum of the asking prices for the 

zones bid on in the previous round and 

less than the sum of the asking prices 

for these zones in the current round. A 

bidder may not submit an intra-round 

bid for a single zone or set of zones in 

the current round when this bidder was 

the only bidder placing a live bid for all 

of these zone(s) in the previous round, 

i.e., an intra-round bid is prohibited in 

the current round when the asking price 

does not increase from the previous 

round on all of the zones on which the 

bidder bid (or was credited with bidding 

on) in the previous round. This 

situation can only arise in this two-zone 

sale for a bid on a single zone, because 

the auction would have closed in the 

previous round if both zones had only 

a single live bid. 

A bidder may submit both live bids 

and an intra-round bid in the same 

round, as long as the bidder reduces the 

number of live bids by at least one zone 

in the current round compared to the 

previous round. The zones on which the 

live bids are submitted may coincide 

with some of the zones included in the 

intra-round bid. In the specific case of 

this two-zone sale, this situation can 

arise only if the bidder has submitted 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
71618 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 232 / Monday, December 3, 2012 / Notices 

live bids on both zones in the previous 

round, chooses to submit an intra-round 

bid in the current round (consisting of 

both zones as required in this example), 

and also submits a live bid at the 

current round’s asking price on one of 

the zones in the bidder’s intra-round 

bid. 

A bidder may submit additional intraround bids in subsequent rounds, 

following the same rules as applied to 

the first intra-round bid. A bidder now 

eligible to bid on one zone may submit 

an intra-round bid on one zone, but 

cannot also submit any live bids, 

because its eligibility to submit live bids 

from having submitted this intra-round 

bid is reduced from one to zero zones. 

Intra-round bids are not considered to 

be live bids for the purpose of 

determining whether to conclude the 

auction or for determining whether to 

increase the asking price for a particular 

zone. When a bidder submits an intraround bid on one zone, the bidder’s bid 

eligibility is reduced to zero, and this 

bid represents the bidder’s best-andfinal offer prior to leaving the auction. 

In contrast, a bidder’s intra-round bid 

for both zones represents a best-andfinal offer for both zones and reduces a 

bidder’s eligibility in the auction to one 

or zero zones, based on the number of 

live bids submitted in the round. In this 

manner, bidders are able to express their 

maximum bid amount for both zones 

and an individual zone prior to 

reducing their eligibility. 

For example, consider the case of a 

bidder who has bid on both zones in 

previous rounds, and hence is eligible to 

continue bidding on both zones in the 

current round. Suppose the asking 

prices for the North and South Zones 

were $750,000 and $600,000 in the 

previous round and are now $800,000 

and $600,000 in the current round, 

respectively. These results reflect that in 

the previous round the bidder had 

competition for the North Zone (because 

the asking price was increased in the 

current round), but not for the South 

Zone. The bidder may only enter a 

single, intra-round bid for both zones 

that it bid on in the previous round. 

This single offer price must be more 

than $1,350,000 and less than 

$1,400,000, and the bidder must 

simultaneously reduce its eligibility to 

submit live bids from two zones to one 

or zero zones. The bidder can satisfy 

this requirement by choosing to submit 

(along with its intra-round bid) a single 

live bid of $800,000 for the North Zone 

or $600,000 for the South Zone, or 

choose not to submit any live bids and 

hence exit the auction. 

If the bidder had only bid on one zone 

in the previous round, it may be eligible 

to submit an intra-round bid during the 

current round. If its previous round’s 

bid was for the North Zone, the bidder 

could submit an intra-round bid for that 

zone of more than $750,000 and less 

than $800,000, reduce its live bid 

eligibility to zero, and hence exit the 

auction. Alternatively, if the bidder’s 

previous round’s bid was on the South 

Zone, it cannot submit an intra-round 

bid, because the current round’s asking 

price is unchanged from the asking 

price in the previous round, as there 

were no other competitive bids. In this 

case, since the bidder had no 

competition for the South Zone, its sole 

bid of $600,000 from the previous round 

is automatically recorded by BOEM as a 

submitted live bid of the same amount 

in the current round. 

Stages—Stage 1 

After the bidding ends, a panel will 

determine the winning bids in two 

stages. This determination, in both 

stages, will be based on the two auction 

variables, as well as on a bidder’s 

adherence to the rules of the auction, 

and on confirmation of the absence of 

conduct detrimental to the integrity of 

the competitive auction. 

In Stage 1, a zone is awarded to the 

bidder with a live bid in the final round 

of the auction. A bidder who submits a 

final round live bid for a zone is 

guaranteed to be the winning bidder for 

that zone. A bidder who is awarded a 

zone only as a result of a final round 

live bid is obligated to pay the cash bid 

amount for that zone (i.e., the asking 

price of that zone in the final round less 

any credit earned). 

If both zones are awarded to bidders 

in Stage 1, the second award stage 

would not be necessary. If at least one 

zone is not awarded in Stage 1, which 

received either an intra-round bid 

within any round or a live bid in a 

prior-to-final round, then a second 

award stage would be conducted. 

Stages—Stage 2 

In Stage 2, all of the remaining priorto-final round live bids and any intraround bids received during the auction 

are considered alongside one another to 

award any remaining unsold zones. 

Determination of the winning Stage 2 

bids is based on the principle of 

maximization of gross auction revenue 

subject to the award of zones in Stage 

1. 

Live bids from previous rounds are 

considered in the same way as intraround bids received within any round, 

i.e., at a single aggregate price per round 

per bidder based on the sum of the 

asking prices for each zone in the round 

the bid was received. For example, if a 

bidder placed live bids in a previous 

round for both the North and South 

Zones and the asking prices in that 

round for each zone were $600,000 and 

$750,000, respectively, the bid would be 

evaluated at $1,350,000 for award 

purposes. 

Thus, in Stage 2, bids from bidders in 

each applicable round are considered as 

unique packages of intra-round bids and 

live bids. A bidder is able to win bids 

submitted from only a single round, 

which will consist of either all of the 

zones in an intra-round bid or all of the 

zones on which it submitted live bids in 

the winning round for that bidder. A 

bidder cannot win only some of the 

zones on which it submitted live bids in 

a round. Rather, a bidder wins all of the 

zones or none of them from one round 

based on its live bids. Further, a bidder 

may only win one intra-round bid and 

may not win a set of live bids and an 

intra-round bid—it wins one or the 

other based on auction revenue 

maximization subject to the Stage 1 

awards. 

In particular, any intra-round bids or 

sets of prior-to-final round live bids 

from one bidder, which include a zone 

awarded in Stage 1 to another bidder, 

are eliminated from consideration. 

Thus, if Bidder A was awarded the 

South Zone in Stage 1, and Bidder B 

submitted either an intra-round bid or 

set of live bids for both the North Zone 

and South Zone in one or more previous 

rounds, those bids of Bidder B would be 

eliminated because they overlap with a 

zone that has already been awarded to 

Bidder A in Stage 1. 

Also, any intra-round bids or sets of 

prior-to-final round live bids from a 

bidder who itself was awarded one or 

more zones in Stage 1 are eliminated 

unless such bids represent a superset of 

the zones (i.e., in this sale, both zones) 

won by the bidder in Stage 1, i.e., those 

bids must contain all the zones won by 

this bidder in Stage 1 to be considered 

in Stage 2. For example, if a bidder was 

already awarded the North Zone in 

Stage 1, any previous rounds’ bids by 

that bidder for just the South Zone 

would be eliminated from 

consideration, whereas that bidder’s 

previous rounds’ bids for both zones 

would be considered for award in Stage 

2. 

Acceptance of a bidder’s superset bid 

over the final round bid would depend 

on whether the superset bid was 

consistent with maximizing gross 

auction revenue. To demonstrate, 

suppose only the North Zone received a 

final round live bid, equal to 

$1,000,000, and the same bidder 

submitted the highest previous round’s 

set of live bids or an intra-round bid for 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 232 / Monday, December 3, 2012 / Notices 71619 

both the North and South Zones with a 

gross auction price of $1,400,000. In this 

case, the bidder’s superset bid of 

$1,400,000 for both zones would replace 

the final round live bid from this same 

bidder for only the North Zone of 

$1,000,000. 

In summary, unsold zones following 

the Stage 1 evaluations are considered 

for award to the bidders in Stage 2 for 

eligible intra-round bids and sets of live 

bids in a manner that would yield the 

highest gross auction revenue to BOEM 

given the Stage 1 awards. If more than 

one combination of remaining previousround live and intra-round bids exist 

that would yield the same highest gross 

auction revenue to the seller, while 

preserving the zones awarded in Stage 

1, the resulting tie is settled by a 

random draw. 

All zone awards are based on the bids 

submitted during the auction at their 

asking and intra-round bid (i.e., ‘‘asbid’’) prices. For each bidder, the as-bid 

price will be considered to have a cash 

component and an imputed credit 

component, if applicable, as described 

in the following section. The amount 

each bidder is obligated to pay at the 

conclusion of the auction will be equal 

to the cash component of the as-bid 

auction price (i.e., the as-bid auction 

price less the imputed amounts 

associated with the credits, as described 

in the following section). 

Factor Two Credits: Prior to the 

auction, BOEM will convene a panel (as 

provided in BOEM’s regulations, 

discussed above) to evaluate whether 

and to what extent each bidder is 

eligible for a credit applicable to the asbid auction price for one of the zones in 

each round of the auction, as described 

below. In order to receive the JDA or 

PPA credit a bidder must be legally, 

technically, and financially qualified to 

acquire a commercial OCS wind lease, 

and must not be affiliated with any 

other bidding entity also seeking credit 

for the same JDA or PPA. 

The percentage credit is determined 

based on the panel’s evaluation of 

required documentation submitted by 

the bidders as of the deadline specified 

in the Final Sale Notice. Bidders will be 

informed prior to the first round of the 

auction about the percentage credit 

applicable to their bid for a single zone. 

Then, in subsequent rounds, bidders 

will be provided information showing 

how their as-bid auction prices are 

affected by the credit imputed to their 

bid to determine their net payment due 

to BOEM, should their bids prevail as 

winning bids in the award stages. This 

process is conceptually similar to one in 

which the multiple bid factors are 

combined into an aggregate score for the 

purpose of awarding zones, but is more 

transparent to bidders and facilitates the 

bidding process in a dynamic, multifactor, multiple round auction process, 

such as we propose to use for this sale. 

The percentage amount of credit 

imputed will be based on the greater of 

the following two conditions associated 

with the development activities within 

the Rhode Island lease sale area: 

• A bidder having entered into one or 

more qualified joint development 

agreements (JDAs) supporting 350 MW 

or more of total capacity will receive a 

credit of 15 percent; or 

• A bidder having entered into one or 

more qualified Power Purchase 

Agreements (PPAs) supporting 350 MW 

or more of total capacity under contract 

will receive a credit of 25 percent. 

The panel will determine whether a 

proffered JDA or PPA is qualified to 

receive a credit, based on the 

definitional information provided 

below. 

A bidder with both a qualified JDA 

and a qualified PPA is eligible to receive 

the larger of the two credits. For 

example, if a bidder’s winning bid for 

its highest-priced zone is $1,000,000 

and the bidder has entered into a JDA 

for 400 MW and a PPA for 570 MW, the 

bidder would qualify for a credit of 15 

percent for the JDA and 25 percent for 

the PPA, and be eligible for an award 

equal to the larger of the two credit 

amounts, in this case 25 percent. 

Accordingly, the bidder would have an 

imputed credit of $250,000 for its 

winning bid and would pay BOEM the 

cash component of its bid, which would 

be $750,000. 

In another example, if the bidder 

entered a JDA for 400 MW and a PPA 

for 170 MW, then under the first 

condition, the bidder with a qualified 

JDA would receive a credit of 15 

percent, while under the second 

condition, the bidder would not receive 

any credit since the capacity under the 

PPA contract falls below the 350 MW 

threshold level. The bidder would be 

eligible for an award equal to 15 

percent, and hence would have an 

imputed credit of $150,000 and pay 

BOEM $850,000 (the cash component of 

its bid) for its winning gross auction 

priced zone of $1,000,000. 

The bidding software interface will be 

tailored to each bidder based on the 

percentage credit awarded to the bidder. 

In each round of the auction, the bidder 

will be provided with the gross and net 

stated auction prices for each zone, 

along with the aggregate bid price the 

bidder would be obligated to pay if the 

zones were to be awarded to them based 

on that round’s bids, both with and 

without the bidder’s credit. For a bid on 

both zones in a given round, the 

software interface would highlight the 

zone with the highest stated auction 

price among the zones selected by the 

bidder to which the credit would be 

applied in each round. For example, 

suppose a bidder is eligible for a 15 

percent credit, and the gross stated 

auction prices for the North and South 

Zones in the current round are 

$1,000,000 and $800,000 respectively. 

The potential net payment to be made 

by the bidder for its live bids for both 

zones would be shown as a net bid of 

$850,000 for the higher-priced North 

Zone, and a gross bid of $800,000 for the 

lower-priced South Zone. 

The same principle is applied when 

an intra-round bid, rather than a live 

bid, is offered. If an intra-round bid 

includes only one zone, the percent 

credit will be applied to the zone’s 

asking price in the previous round. Note 

that the credit does not apply to the full 

amount of the intra-round bid, i.e., it 

does not apply to the increment above 

the asking price in the previous round. 

For example, say the stated auction 

price for the North Zone was $800,000 

in the previous round and $1,000,000 in 

the current round and a bidder who was 

awarded a 15 percent credit submits an 

intra-round bid price of $900,000 for the 

zone. The bidder would be obligated to 

pay $780,000 if its bid is successful. 

This amount would reflect an imputed 

$120,000 credit to its $900,000 bid price 

which would be calculated by applying 

its 15 percent credit to the previousround’s asking price of $800,000, and 

then subtracting the amount of that 

calculation $120,000 from its bid of 

$900,000. 

In the case of an intra-round bid for 

both zones, the highest priced zone will 

be determined based on the asking 

prices of both zones in the round 

previous to the submission of the intraround bid. Continuing with the previous 

example, assume the stated auction 

price for the South Zone is $500,000 in 

both the previous and current rounds, 

and for the North Zone the stated 

auction prices are the same as before, 

i.e., $800,000 in the previous round and 

$1,000,000 in the current round. 

Suppose the bidder offers an intraround bid price of $1,400,000 for both 

zones. In this instance, the price of the 

North Zone ($800,000) is greater than 

the South Zone ($500,000) in the 

previous round, and the dollar value of 

the credit is calculated to be 15 percent 

of $800,000, equal to $120,000 as before. 

So, the bidder would be obligated to pay 

$1,280,000 for its intra-round bid if 

successful. 

BOEM considered alternative 

specifications of these conditions, 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
71620 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 232 / Monday, December 3, 2012 / Notices 

including options to have the maximum 

credit for the JDA and PPA be 10 

percent and 15 percent, respectively, 

and where the total credit would then 

be the sum of two conditions. BOEM 

also considered the option to provide a 

pro-rated credit for JDAs and PPAs 

involving less than the 350 MW level 

anticipated to be needed to support a 

viable project. BOEM recognizes that 

few if any developers will have entered 

into PPA at the time of the proposed 

lease sale, but has elected to include the 

discussion of PPA and the alternative 

specifications in this PSN to obtain 

comment that will be considered for 

both this and future lease sales. 

Factor Two Definitions: The 

definitions below will apply to the 

factors for which bidders may earn a 

credit. 

Joint development agreement (JDA) is 

a binding agreement between a State 

and a legal entity that proposes to 

develop renewable (wind) energy, 

which sets forth the rights, obligations, 

and certain economic development 

activities of the parties in connection 

with the development of an offshore 

wind project. The legal entity named in 

a JDA must be selected through a 

competitive selection process, such as a 

request for proposals (RFP), that is 

conducted by a state adjacent to the 

wind energy area issuing and entering 

into the JDA agreement, where the 

subsequent submitted proposals are 

evaluated by a State agency, committee, 

or public utility board. The JDA will 

qualify if the panel determines that the 

agreement includes the following 

identifiable factors: (1) Sufficient 

specificity to the size, timing, and 

location of the proposed project on the 

OCS; (2) the financial commitment of 

the State, the identified legal entity, 

and/or a third party (buyer of power), if 

applicable, included in the agreement; 

(3) the developmental, financial, and/or 

regulatory processes through which the 

State will support the identified legal 

entity that proposes to develop 

renewable (wind) energy; (4) significant 

project milestones; (5) the ramifications 

for not meeting said milestones; and (6) 

any exclusionary rights awarded to said 

identified legal entity. 

Power purchase agreement (PPA) is 

any legally enforceable contract 

negotiated between an electricity 

generator (Generator) and a power 

purchaser (Buyer) that identifies, 

defines, and stipulates the rights and 

obligations of one party to produce, and 

the other party to purchase, energy from 

an offshore wind project to be located in 

the lease sale area. The PPA must have 

been approved by a public utility 

commission or similar legal authority. 

The PPA must state that the Generator 

will sell to the Buyer and the Buyer will 

buy from the Generator capacity, energy, 

and/or environmental attribute products 

from the project, as defined in the terms 

and conditions set forth in the PPA. 

Energy products to be supplied by the 

Generator and the details of the firm 

cost recovery mechanism approved by 

the State’s public utility commission or 

other applicable authority used to 

recover expenditures incurred as a 

result of the PPA must be specified in 

the PPA. In order to qualify, a PPA must 

contain the following terms or 

supporting documentation: 

(i) A complete description of the 

proposed project; 

(ii) Identification of both the 

electricity Generator and (Buyer) that 

will enter into a long term contract; 

(iii) A time line for permitting, 

licensing, and construction; 

(iv) Pricing projected under the long 

term contract being sought, including 

prices for all market products that 

would be sold under the proposed long 

term contract; 

(v) A schedule of quantities of each 

product to be delivered and projected 

electrical energy production profiles; 

(vi) The term for the long term 

contract; 

(vii) Citations to all filings related to 

the PPA that have been made with state 

and Federal agencies, and identification 

of all such filings that are necessary to 

be made; and 

(viii) Copies of or citations to 

interconnection filings related to the 

PPA. 

Additional Information Regarding the 

Auction Format 

Specific details about certain 

administrative aspects of the auction 

sale process will be described in the 

FSN. These aspects include how much 

the asking price will increase in various 

stages of the auction, the duration of 

each bidding round, the amount of time 

provided between rounds, the number 

of rounds expected per day, and the 

days on which the auction process will 

continue, if necessary, beyond the first 

day. Bidders may expect multiple 

rounds per day to occur during normal 

business hours. The amount of time 

allowed for bidders to enter bids and the 

time between rounds may be reduced as 

the auction progresses based on the 

patterns of bidding, to increase the pace 

of the auction. At the start of each day, 

bidders will be notified of the round 

schedule for that day. 

Acceptance, Rejection or Return of 

Bids: BOEM reserves the right and 

authority to reject any and all bids. In 

any case, no lease will be awarded to 

any bidder, and no bid will be accepted, 

unless (1) the bidder has complied with 

all requirements of the FSN, applicable 

regulations and statutes, including, but 

not limited to, bidder qualifications, bid 

deposits, and adherence to the integrity 

of the competitive bidding process, (2) 

the bid conforms with the requirements 

and rules of the auction, and (3) the 

amount of the bid has been determined 

to be adequate by the authorized officer. 

Any bid submitted that does not satisfy 

any of these requirements may be 

returned to the bidder submitting that 

bid by the Program Manager of BOEM’s 

Office of Renewable Energy Programs 

and not considered for acceptance. 

Process for Issuing the Lease: If BOEM 

proceeds with lease issuance, it will 

issue three unsigned copies of the lease 

form to each winning bidder. Within 10 

business days after receiving the lease 

copies, each winning bidder must: 

1. Execute the lease on the bidder’s 

behalf; 

2. File financial assurance, as required 

under 30 CFR 585.515–537; and 

3. Pay the balance of the bonus bid 

(bid amount less the bid deposit). 

If a winning bidder does not meet 

these three requirements within 10 

business days of receiving the lease 

copies as described above, or if a 

winning bidder otherwise fails to 

comply with applicable regulations or 

the terms of the FSN, the winning 

bidder will forfeit its bid deposit. BOEM 

may extend this 10 business-day time 

period if it determines the delay was 

caused by events beyond the winning 

bidder’s control. 

BOEM will not execute a lease until 

the three requirements above have been 

satisfied, BOEM has accepted the 

winning bidder’s financial assurance, 

and BOEM has processed the winning 

bidder’s payment. Please note the 

required timelines for providing 

financial assurance. The winning bidder 

may meet financial assurance 

requirements by posting a surety bond 

or by setting up an escrow account with 

a trust agreement giving BOEM the right 

to withdraw the money held in the 

account on demand by BOEM. BOEM 

may accept other forms of financial 

assurance on a case-by-case basis in 

accordance with its regulations. BOEM 

encourages winning bidders to discuss 

the financial assurance requirement 

with BOEM as soon as possible after the 

auction has concluded. 

Within 45 calendar days of the date 

that the lessee receives the lease copies, 

the lessee must pay the first year’s rent. 

Anti-Competitive Behavior: In 

addition to the auction rules described 

in this notice, bidding behavior is 

governed by Federal antitrust laws 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 232 / Monday, December 3, 2012 / Notices 71621 

designed to prevent anticompetitive 

behavior in the marketplace. 

Compliance with the BOEM’s auction 

procedures will not insulate a party 

from enforcement of the antitrust laws. 

In accordance with the Act at 43 

U.S.C. 1337(c), following the auction, 

and before the acceptance of bids and 

the issuance of leases, BOEM will 

‘‘allow the Attorney General, in 

consultation with the Federal Trade 

Commission, thirty days to review the 

results of the lease sale.’’ 

If a bidder is found to have engaged 

in anti-competitive behavior or 

otherwise violated BOEM’s rules in 

connection with its participation in the 

competitive bidding process, BOEM 

may reject the high bid pursuant to its 

regulations at 30 CFR 585.222(a)(2). 

Anti-competitive behavior 

determinations are fact specific. 

However, such behavior may manifest 

itself in several different ways, 

including, but not limited to: 

• An agreement, either express or 

tacit, among bidders to not bid in an 

auction, or to bid a particular price; 

• An agreement among bidders not to 

bid in a particular location; 

• An agreement among bidders not to 

bid against each other; and 

• Other agreements among bidders 

that have the effect of limiting the final 

auction price. 

BOEM may decline to award a lease if 

doing so would otherwise create a 

situation inconsistent with the antitrust 

laws (e.g., heavily concentrated market, 

etc.). 

For more information on whether 

specific communications or agreements 

could constitute a violation of Federal 

antitrust law, please see: http:// 

www.justice.gov/atr/public/businessresources.html, or consult counsel. 

Post-Auction Certification: In addition 

to the steps described in the section 

entitled, ‘‘Process for Issuing the Lease,’’ 

following the lease sale, each winning 

bidder will be required to certify the 

following, in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 

1001 (Fraud and False Statements): 

I certify that [name of qualified bidder] did 

not engage in anticompetitive bidding 

behavior in violation of Federal law, BOEM’s 

regulations, or auction procedures. 

I certify that this bid is made in a good 

faith effort to win a lease to engage in the 

development of renewable energy resources. 

Non-Procurement Debarment and 

Suspension Regulations: Pursuant to 

regulations at 43 CFR Part 42, Subpart 

C, an OCS renewable energy Lessee 

must comply with the U.S. Department 

of the Interior’s non-procurement 

debarment and suspension regulations 

at 2 CFR parts 180 and 1400 and agree 

to communicate the requirement to 

comply with these regulations to 

persons with whom the Lessee does 

business as it relates to this lease, by 

including this term as a condition in 

their contracts and other transactions. 

Final Sale Notice: BOEM will 

consider comments received or 

postmarked during the PSN comment 

period in preparing a FSN that will 

provide the final details concerning the 

offering and issuance of an OCS 

commercial wind energy lease in the 

Rhode Island and Massachusetts WEA. 

The FSN will be published in the 

Federal Register at least 30 days before 

the lease sale is conducted and will 

provide the date and time of the 

auction. The possibility also exists that 

there could be a second PSN, with 

another 60-day public comment period, 

prior to issuance of the FSN. 

Force Majeure: The Program Manager 

of BOEM’s Office of Renewable Energy 

Programs has the discretion to change 

any date, time, and/or location specified 

in the FSN in case of a force majeure 

event that the Program Manager deems 

may interfere with a fair and proper 

lease sale process. Such events may 

include, but are not limited to, natural 

disasters (e.g., earthquakes, hurricanes, 

floods), wars, riots, acts of terrorism, 

fire, strikes, civil disorder or other 

events of a similar nature. In case of 

such events, bidders should call 703– 

787–1300 or access the BOEM Web site 

at: http://www.boem.gov/RenewableEnergy-Program/index.aspx. 

Appeals: The appeals procedures are 

provided in BOEM’s regulations at 30 

CFR 585.225 and 585.118(c). Pursuant 

to 30 CFR 585.225: 

(a) If BOEM rejects your bid, BOEM 

will provide a written statement of the 

reasons, and refund any money 

deposited with your bid, without 

interest. 

(b) You will then be able to ask the 

BOEM Director for reconsideration, in 

writing, within 15 business days of bid 

rejection, under 30 CFR 585.118(c)(1). 

We will send you a written response 

either affirming or reversing the 

rejection. 

The procedures for appealing adverse 

final decisions with respect to lease 

sales are described in 30 CFR 

585.118(c). 

Protection of Privileged or 

Confidential Information: 

Freedom of Information Act: 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, subject to the 

requirements of 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. 

Section 304 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470w–3(a)): 

BOEM is required, after consultation 

with the Secretary of the Interior, to 

withhold the location, character, or 

ownership of historic resources if it 

determines that disclosure may, among 

other things, cause a significant 

invasion of privacy, risk harm to the 

historic resources or impede the use of 

a traditional religious site by 

practitioners. Tribal entities and other 

interested parties should designate 

information that they wish to be held as 

confidential. 

Dated: November 27, 2012. 

Tommy P. Beaudreau, 

Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2012–29096 Filed 11–30–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

[Docket No. BOEM–2012–0033] 

Atlantic Wind One (ATLW1) 

Commercial Leasing for Wind Power 

on the Outer Continental Shelf 

Offshore Virginia—Proposed Sale 

Notice 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM), Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed Sale Notice for 

Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on 

the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore 

Virginia. 

SUMMARY: This document is the 

Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) for the sale 

of a commercial renewable energy lease 

on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) 

offshore Virginia, pursuant to BOEM’s 

regulations at 30 CFR 585.216. BOEM 

will auction the area described in the 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES