101044 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Notices 

https://www.blm.gov/get-involved/ 

resource-advisory-council/near-you/ 

montana-dakotas/western-montana-rac. 

(Authority: 43 CFR 1784.4–2) 

Kathryn Stevens, 

Western Montana BLM District Manager. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29453 Filed 12–12–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–20–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_MT_FRN_MO4540000308] 

Call for Nominations to the Western 

Montana Resource Advisory Council 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of call for nominations. 

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is 

to request public nominations for the 

Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) 

Western Montana Resource Advisory 

Council (RAC) to fill existing vacancies, 

as well as for member terms that are 

scheduled to expire. The RAC provides 

advice and recommendations to the 

BLM on land use planning and 

management of the National System of 

Public Lands within the Western 

Montana District. 

DATES: All nominations must be 

received no later than January 13, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: Nominations and completed 

applications should be sent to the BLM 

office listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann 

Boucher, BLM Montana/Dakotas State 

Office, 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, 

MT 59101; telephone: (406) 896–5255; 

email: aboucher@blm.gov. 

Individuals in the United States who 

are deaf, blind, hard of hearing, or have 

a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, 

TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

Individuals outside the United States 

should use the relay services offered 

within their country to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act (FLPMA) directs the Secretary of the 

Interior (Secretary) to involve the public 

in planning and issues related to the 

management of lands administered by 

the BLM. Section 309 of FLPMA (43 

U.S.C. 1739) directs the Secretary to 

establish 10- to 15-member citizenbased advisory councils that are 

consistent with the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (FACA). As required by 

FACA, RAC membership must be 

balanced and representative of the 

various interests concerned with the 

management of the public lands. The 

rules governing RACs are found at 43 

CFR part 1780 subpart 1784 and include 

the following three membership 

categories: 

Category One—Holders of Federal 

grazing permits or leases within the area 

for which the RAC is organized; 

represent interests associated with 

transportation or rights-of-way; 

represent developed outdoor recreation, 

off-highway vehicle users, or 

commercial recreation activities; 

represent the commercial timber 

industry; or represent energy and 

mineral development. 

Category Two—Representatives of 

nationally or regionally recognized 

environmental organizations; dispersed 

recreational activities; archaeological 

and historical interests; or nationally or 

regionally recognized wild horse and 

burro interest groups. 

Category Three—Hold State, county, 

or local elected office; are employed by 

a State agency responsible for the 

management of natural resources, land, 

or water; represent Indian Tribes within 

or adjacent to the area for which the 

RAC is organized; are employed as 

academicians in natural resource 

management or the natural sciences; or 

represent the affected public-at-large. 

Individuals may nominate themselves 

or others. Nominees must be residents 

of the State of Montana. The BLM will 

evaluate nominees based on their 

education, training, experience, and 

knowledge of the geographic area of the 

RAC. Nominees should demonstrate a 

commitment to collaborative resource 

decision-making. 

The following must accompany all 

nominations: 

• A completed RAC application, 

which can either be obtained through 

the nominee’s BLM office or online at: 

https://www.blm.gov/sites/default/files/ 

docs/2022-05/BLM-Form-1120-19_RACApplication.pdf. 

• Letters of reference from 

represented interests or organizations; 

and 

• Any other information that 

addresses the nominee’s qualifications. 

Simultaneous with this notice, the 

BLM Montana/Dakotas office will issue 

an online announcement providing 

additional information for submitting 

nominations. 

(Authority: 43 CFR 1784.4–1) 

Kathryn Stevens, 

Western Montana BLM District Manager. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29443 Filed 12–12–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–20–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

[Docket No. BOEM–2023–0046] 

Notice of Availability of a Gulf of 

Mexico Regional Outer Continental 

Shelf Oil and Gas Draft Programmatic 

Environmental Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: Consistent with the 

regulations implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

(BOEM) announces the availability of 

the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Regional 

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and 

Gas Lease Sales: Draft Programmatic 

Environmental Impact Statement (Draft 

GOM Oil and Gas EIS). The Draft GOM 

Oil and Gas EIS analyzes the potential 

impacts of a representative oil and gas 

lease sale in available OCS areas of the 

Western, Central, and Eastern Planning 

Areas and the associated potential siteand activity-specific approvals resulting 

from an OCS oil and gas lease sale. This 

notice of availability (NOA) announces 

the release of the Draft GOM Oil and 

Gas EIS, start of the public review and 

comment period, and dates and times 

for public meetings. After the public 

comment period, BOEM will address 

the comments received and publish the 

Final GOM Oil and Gas EIS. 

DATES: BOEM will consider comments 

received by January 27, 2025. BOEM 

will hold three virtual public meetings 

for the Draft GOM Oil and Gas EIS. 

Dates, times, registration and 

additional information for the public 

meetings may be found at https://

www.boem.gov/environment/ 

environmental-assessment/gulf-mexicoregional-ocs-oil-and-gas-programmatic 

or by calling 1–800–200–4853. 

ADDRESSES: Detailed information can be 

found on BOEM’s website at https://

www.boem.gov/environment/ 

environmental-assessment/gulf-mexicoregional-ocs-oil-and-gas-programmatic. 

Written comments can be submitted 

through the regulations.gov web portal: 

Navigate to www.regulations.gov and 

search for Docket No. BOEM–2023– 

0046. Select the document in the search 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Notices 101045 

results on which you want to comment, 

click on the ‘‘Comment’’ button, and 

follow the online instructions for 

submitting your comment. A 

commenter’s checklist is available on 

the comment web page. Enter your 

information and comment, then click 

‘‘Submit.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Helen Rucker, BOEM, Gulf of Mexico 

Regional Office, Office of Environment, 

1201 Elmwood Park Blvd., New 

Orleans, Louisiana 70123, (504) 736– 

2421, or helen.rucker@boem.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Proposed Action and Alternatives 

This EIS is expected to be used to 

inform the decision for the first GOM oil 

and gas lease sale proposed in the 2024– 

2029 National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing 

Program. It also is expected to be used 

and supplemented as appropriate for 

decisions on additional future proposed 

GOM lease sales. In addition, this EIS 

will be used to support post-lease siteand activity-specific OCS oil- and gasrelated activity analyses and approvals. 

In this Draft EIS, BOEM analyzes four 

alternatives: a no action alternative and 

three action alternatives. Because this 

EIS analyzes a representative lease sale, 

Alternative A (No Action) is the 

cancellation of a single proposed GOM 

lease sale. 

The first action alternative 

(Alternative B) is BOEM’s Proposed 

Action and offers all available unleased 

acreage in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico OCS, 

including the Western and Central 

Planning Areas and the portion of the 

Eastern Planning Area not subject to 

Presidential withdrawal. Alternative B 

would allow BOEM to issue offshore 

wind energy leases in the 12 months 

following the sale by satisfying the 

requirement in the Inflation Reduction 

Act to offer an aggregate of at least 60 

million acres for offshore oil and gas 

leasing within a 12-month period prior 

to issuing offshore wind energy leases. 

Alternative B analyzes lease stipulations 

and other mitigation measures for 

environmental protection. 

The second action alternative 

(Alternative C) would allow for a 

proposed lease sale excluding targeted 

portions of the Central, Western, and 

Eastern Planning Areas within the U.S. 

Gulf of Mexico OCS. Alternative C 

would allow BOEM to issue offshore 

wind energy leases in the 12 months 

following the sale by satisfying the 

requirement in the Inflation Reduction 

Act to offer an aggregate of at least 60 

million acres for offshore oil and gas 

leasing within a 12-month period prior 

to issuing offshore wind energy leases. 

Alternative C would exclude several 

areas for environmental protection 

purposes and to avoid conflicts with 

other ocean uses. 

The final action alternative 

(Alternative D) would allow for a 

proposed OCS oil and gas lease sale 

excluding more targeted portions than 

Alternative C in the Central and 

Western Planning Areas within the U.S. 

Gulf of Mexico OCS. Alternative D 

would exclude more of the OCS for 

environmental considerations and to 

avoid conflicts with other ocean uses. 

However, this Alternative would not on 

its own satisfy the aggregate lease 

acreage requirements of the Inflation 

Reduction Act to issue offshore wind 

energy leases. Selection of this 

alternative would require at least one 

additional OCS oil and gas lease sale 

within a 12-month period in order to 

satisfy the requirements of the Inflation 

Reduction Act. 

Purpose of and Need for the Proposed 

Action 

The purpose of the Proposed Action 

(Alternative B) is to facilitate the 

potential development of those areas of 

the OCS that may contain economically 

recoverable oil and gas. Following lease 

issuance, BOEM may authorize 

development through plan and permit 

approvals (subject to additional 

environmental review and regulatory 

oversight). This purpose is consistent 

with BOEM’s mandate to further the 

orderly development of OCS oil and gas 

resources under the OCS Lands Act. 

Each individual proposed oil and gas 

lease sale would provide qualified 

bidders the opportunity to bid upon and 

lease available acreage in the Gulf of 

Mexico OCS in order to explore, 

develop, and produce oil and natural 

gas. 

The Proposed Action is needed to 

meet the ongoing domestic demand for 

oil and gas resources and, per current 

law, to help facilitate the development 

of offshore wind as a source of 

renewable electricity. Oil and gas from 

the Gulf of Mexico OCS contributes to 

meeting domestic demand. Oil serves as 

the feedstock for liquid hydrocarbon 

products, including gasoline, aviation 

and diesel fuel, and various 

petrochemicals. Gas may be used to 

support OCS oil and gas production on 

site as well as to potentially heat homes, 

generate electricity, and as feedstock 

necessary for the production of 

numerous other goods. 

Under the Inflation Reduction Act of 

2022 (Pub. L. 117–169, enacted August 

16, 2022), Congress directed that the 

Secretary of the Interior must hold an 

offshore oil and gas lease sale(s) totaling 

at least 60 million acres in the year prior 

to issuing any offshore wind energy 

leases. The long-term goal of the Biden 

Administration is to reduce greenhouse 

gas (GHG) emissions to 50 percent of 

2005 emissions by 2030, reach net-zero 

GHG emissions by 2050, and to limit 

global warming to less than 1.5 °Celsius 

(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefingroom/statements-releases/2021/04/22/ 

fact-sheet-president-biden-sets-2030- 

greenhouse-gas-pollution-reductiontarget-aimed-at-creating-good-payingunion-jobs-and-securing-u-s-leadershipon-clean-energy-technologies/). Offshore 

wind energy is a key component of the 

Administration’s plans to reduce future 

GHG emissions. Therefore, continued 

OCS oil and gas lease sale sales are 

required to pursue the climate-related 

goals of the Biden Administration. 

Summary of Potential Impacts 

BOEM analyzed potential impacts 

from routine OCS oil- and gas-related 

activities through impact-producing 

factors (IPFs) such as air emissions, 

discharges and wastes, bottom 

disturbance, noise, coastal land use/ 

modification, lighting and visual 

impacts, offshore habitat modification/ 

space use, and socioeconomic changes. 

Additional IPFs analyzed in this Draft 

EIS may occur from accidental events 

such as unintentional releases into the 

environment, response activities, or 

strikes and collisions. BOEM also 

included an analysis of cumulative 

impacts from past, present, and 

reasonably foreseeable future OCS oiland gas-related activities and non-OCS 

oil- and gas-related activities as part of 

the Draft EIS. Resources analyzed 

included air quality; water quality; 

coastal communities and habitats; 

benthic communities and habitats 

(including protected corals); pelagic 

communities and habitats; fishes and 

invertebrates; birds; marine mammals; 

sea turtles; commercial fisheries; 

recreational fishing; recreational 

resources; land use and coastal 

infrastructure; social factors (including 

environmental justice); economic 

factors; and cultural, historical, and 

archaeological resources. This EIS 

determined potential impacts to 

resources ranging from negligible to 

moderate adverse (with most being 

negligible or minor) and some 

beneficial. Two issues of programmatic 

concern were identified and analyzed 

separately in this Draft EIS: GHG 

emissions and their social costs and 

space-use conflicts between BOEM 

Program Areas. These issues of 

programmatic concern are included in 

the environmental consequences 

analysis through the air emissions and 


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101046 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Notices 

offshore habitat modification/space use 

impact-producing factors. 

Post-Lease Plan/Permit Approvals and 

Tiering 

If the Department of the Interior 

ultimately decides to move forward 

with an individual OCS oil and gas 

lease sale, neither this EIS nor a 

resulting individual lease sale record of 

decision (ROD) will authorize any 

immediate activities (beyond ancillary 

activities under a lease) or approve any 

individual applications for plans or 

permits. The GOM Oil and Gas EIS will 

provide a programmatic environmental 

analysis and framework to support 

future decision-making on individual 

plan and permit submittals. 

When plans or permit applications are 

submitted to BOEM or the Bureau of 

Safety and Environmental Enforcement 

(BSEE), the site-specific characteristics 

of the project will be evaluated by 

preparing additional environmental 

analyses that may tier from this EIS or 

incorporate it by reference. Based on the 

site-specific applications and 

evaluations, BOEM or BSEE may then 

reach a site-specific determination and 

approve, approve with modifications, or 

disapprove individual plans or permits. 

This EIS may inform future BOEM 

decision-making on plan submittals but 

does not approve or authorize any 

applications or plans. Therefore, neither 

this EIS nor a resulting oil and gas lease 

sale ROD constitutes a final agency 

action authorizing or approving any 

individual plan(s) or permit(s). 

Anticipated Authorizations and 

Consultations 

In conjunction with this EIS, BOEM is 

undertaking various consultations and 

coordination in accordance with 

applicable Federal laws, such as the 

Endangered Species Act, 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, 

National Historic Preservation Act 

(NHPA), and Coastal Zone Management 

Act, as appropriate. BOEM also 

conducted government-to-government 

Tribal consultations. 

Decision-Making Schedule 

After the public comment period 

ends, BOEM will review and respond to 

comments received and will develop the 

Final EIS. BOEM will make the Final 

EIS available to the public at least 30 

days prior to issuance of any ROD. The 

ROD will document the final decision 

on which alternative (or alternative with 

modifications) has been selected. If the 

decision is to hold an OCS oil and gas 

lease sale, the ROD will identify the area 

and terms to be offered in the lease sale, 

including any required mitigation (e.g., 

through lease stipulations). 

NEPA Cooperating Agencies 

One Tribal government and three 

Federal agencies responded to BOEM’s 

request for cooperating agencies. The 

National Park Service, National Marine 

Fisheries Service, and BSEE are 

cooperating agencies on the GOM Oil 

and Gas EIS. 

Information on Comment Submissions 

Federal agencies, Tribal, State, and 

local governments, and other interested 

parties are requested to comment on the 

Draft EIS. For information on how to 

submit comments, see the ‘‘Addresses’’ 

section above. 

BOEM does not consider anonymous 

comments. Please include your name 

and address as part of your comment. 

Comments submitted in response to this 

notice are a matter of public record. You 

should be aware that your entire 

comment—including your address, 

phone number, email address, and other 

personally identifiable information 

included in your comment—may be 

made publicly available. 

You may request that BOEM withhold 

your personally identifiable information 

from public disclosure. For BOEM to 

consider withholding from disclosure 

your personally identifying information, 

you must identify, in a cover letter, any 

information contained in the submittal 

of your comments that, if released, 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of your personal privacy. You 

must also briefly describe any possible 

harmful consequences from disclosing 

your information, such as 

embarrassment, injury, or other harm. 

Even if BOEM withholds your 

information in the context of this NOA, 

your submission is subject to the 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). If 

your submission is requested under 

FOIA, BOEM can only withhold your 

information if it determines that one of 

the FOIA’s exemptions to disclosure 

applies. Such a determination will be 

made in accordance with the 

Department of the Interior’s FOIA 

regulations and applicable law. 

Additionally, under Section 304 of 

the NHPA, BOEM is required, after 

consultation with the Secretary of the 

Interior, to withhold the location, 

character, or ownership of historic 

property if it determines that disclosure 

may, among other things, cause a 

significant invasion of privacy, risk 

harm to the historic property, or impede 

the use of a traditional religious site by 

practitioners. Tribal entities and other 

parties providing information on 

historic resources should designate 

information that they wish to be held as 

confidential and provide the reasons 

why BOEM should do so. Please label 

privileged or confidential information as 

‘‘Contains Confidential Information,’’ 

and consider submitting such 

information as a separate attachment. 

BOEM may consider information that is 

not labeled as privileged or confidential 

as suitable for public release. 

All submissions from organizations or 

businesses and from individuals 

identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses will be 

made available for public inspection in 

their entirety. 

Request for Comment 

BOEM requests data, traditional and 

Indigenous knowledge, comments, 

views, information, analysis, or 

suggestions relevant to the analysis of 

the Proposed Action from the public; 

affected Federal, Tribal, State, and local 

governments, agencies, and offices; the 

scientific community; industry; or any 

other interested party. Specifically, 

BOEM requests information on the 

following topics: 

1. Potential mitigating measures and 

the effects these could have on— 

a. biological resources, including 

birds, coastal communities, benthic 

communities, pelagic communities, fish, 

invertebrates, essential fish habitat, 

marine mammals, and sea turtles; 

b. physical resources and conditions, 

including air quality, water quality, 

coastal habitats, benthic habitats, and 

pelagic habitats; and 

c. socioeconomic and cultural 

resources, including commercial 

fishing, recreational fishing, 

demographics, employment, economics, 

environmental justice, land use and 

coastal infrastructure, navigation and 

vessel traffic, other uses (such as marine 

minerals, military use, and aviation), 

and recreation and tourism. 

2. The identification of historic 

properties within the GOM, the 

potential effects on those historic 

properties from GOM oil and gas 

development, and any information that 

supports identification of historic 

properties under the NHPA. BOEM also 

solicits proposed measures to avoid, 

minimize, or mitigate any adverse 

effects on historic properties. If any 

historic properties are identified, a 

potential effects analysis will be 

available for public and NHPA 

consulting party comment in the Final 

EIS. 

3. Information on other current or 

planned activities in the GOM, 

including any mitigating measures, their 

possible impacts on the alternatives, 


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and the alternatives’ possible impacts 

on those activities. 

4. Other information relevant to 

impacts on the human environment 

from potential GOM oil and gas 

development alternatives, including any 

mitigating measures. 

To promote informed decisionmaking, comments should be as specific 

as possible and should provide as much 

detail as necessary to meaningfully and 

fully inform BOEM of the commenter’s 

position. Comments should explain why 

the issues raised are important for 

consideration of the Proposed Action, as 

well as economic, employment, and 

other impacts affecting the quality of the 

human environment. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. and 

40 CFR 1503.1. 

James J. Kendall, 

Regional Director, New Orleans, Louisiana 

Office, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29360 Filed 12–12–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4350–98–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

[Docket No. BOEM–2024–0039] 

Notice of Availability of Determination 

of Competitive Interest in Wind Energy 

Area Options C and D in the Gulf of 

Mexico 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM) announces the 

availability of its determination of 

competitive interest in the areas 

identified in the prior notice, ‘‘Potential 

Commercial Leasing for Wind Power 

Development on the Gulf of Mexico 

Outer Continental Shelf-Request for 

Competitive Interest,’’ which was 

published in the Federal Register on 

July 29, 2024. BOEM published the 

request for competitive interest (RFCI) 

after receiving an unsolicited request 

from Hecate Energy Gulf Wind LLC 

expressing interest in acquiring a 

commercial wind energy lease for wind 

energy area (WEA) options C and D in 

the Gulf of Mexico. In response to the 

RFCI, BOEM received one expression of 

interest from Invenergy GOM Offshore 

Wind LLC. Upon review of the 

proposals, BOEM has determined that 

competitive interest exists in the RFCI 

Areas and will move forward with the 

next competitive lease sale process in 

the Gulf of Mexico. 

ADDRESSES: The determination of 

competitive interest memorandum is 

available on BOEM’s website at https:// 

www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/stateactivities/gulf-mexico-activities. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karoline DiPerna, BOEM Office of 

Leasing and Plans, 1201 Elmwood Park 

Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 

70123, (504) 736–5722, or 

karoline.diperna@boem.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose 

This public notice documents the 

review and analysis of materials 

submitted by Invenergy GOM Offshore 

Wind LLC (hereinafter, Invenergy) 

(Company #15177) expressing interest 

in acquiring a commercial wind energy 

lease in response to the RFCI published 

in the Federal Register on July 29, 2024 

at 89 FR 60913. BOEM published the 

RFCI in response to an unsolicited 

request from Hecate Energy Gulf Wind 

LLC (hereafter, Hecate Energy) 

(Company #15166) to acquire a 

commercial wind energy lease in Gulf of 

Mexico WEA options C and D. 

Background 

On February 16, 2024, BOEM received 

an unsolicited request from Hecate 

Energy expressing interest in acquiring 

a wind energy lease for WEA options C 

and D. After determining that Hecate 

Energy is qualified to hold a wind 

energy lease in these areas, BOEM 

published an RFCI pursuant to 

subsection 8(p)(3) of the Outer 

Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act (43 

U.S.C. 1337(p)(3)) and BOEM’s 

implementing regulations at 30 CFR 

585.231. Subsection 8(p)(3) of the OCS 

Lands Act requires OCS renewable 

energy leases, easements, and rights-ofway to be issued ‘‘on a competitive basis 

unless the Secretary determines after 

public notice of a lease, easement, or 

right-of-way that there is no competitive 

interest.’’ The RFCI provided public 

notice of Hecate Energy’s unsolicited 

lease request and invited the submission 

of indications of competitive interest in 

commercial wind energy leases within 

the RFCI areas as well as stakeholder 

feedback. The RFCI provided that if 

BOEM received one or more indications 

of competitive interest from qualified 

entities that wish to develop a 

commercial wind energy project in the 

RFCI areas, BOEM may decide to move 

forward with a competitive lease 

issuance process following the 

procedures set forth in 30 CFR 585.210 

through 585.226. Based on those 

procedures, if BOEM receives no 

competing expressions of interest from 

qualified companies, BOEM can decide 

to move forward with the lease issuance 

process using the noncompetitive 

procedures contained in 30 CFR 

585.231. 

RFCI Response 

BOEM received 18 comments during 

the RFCI comment period, including 

one expression of interest from 

Invenergy. Invenergy is qualified 

legally, financially, and technically for 

this specific submission pursuant to 30 

CFR 585.107 and 585.108. Many of the 

comments addressed concerns about the 

suitability of the RFCI areas for leasing. 

To the extent they are relevant, BOEM 

will take all the comments it received 

during the RFCI comment period into 

consideration as it moves forward with 

the competitive leasing process. 

Findings 

BOEM has deemed both Hecate 

Energy and Invenergy to be legally, 

technically, and financially qualified to 

hold an OCS renewable energy lease in 

the Gulf of Mexico. Their submittals 

included all the required information 

outlined in the RFCI and 30 CFR 

585.231. 

Hecate Energy’s proposed project 

would consist of up to 133 fixed-bottom 

wind turbine generators (WTGs), each 

with a capacity of 15–23 megawatts 

(MW), with an overall maximum 

capacity of approximately 2,000 MW. 

Each turbine would be deployed on 

fixed monopile or jacket foundation 

types. Hecate Energy narrowed its 

selections to three points of 

interconnection within Texas and 

Louisiana and continues to examine 12 

potential landfall locations with paths 

to three designated substations. Export 

cables would run separately from each 

of the two lease areas, or the lease areas 

would be joined offshore with one 

substation and one central export cable. 

Hecate Energy’s full application can be 

found online at https://www.boem.gov/ 

renewable-energy/state-activities/gulfmexico-activities. 

Invenergy’s proposed project would 

consist of up to 140 competitively 

selected and commercially available 

turbines, with expected capacities of 

more than 15 MW, for a total project 

capacity of up to 2,500 MW. WTG units 

would be connected via inter-array 

cables to 1–4 offshore substations, 

which would connect to an offshore 

export cable that would carry the power 

to shore. Structures would be designed 

to international standards, such as those 

from the International Electrotechnical 

Commission, to ensure they can 

maintain structural reliability in high 

load cases. Invenergy’s full expression 

of interest can be found online at 

https://www.boem.gov/renewableVerDate Sep<11>2014 18:12 Dec 12, 2024 Jkt 265001 PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\13DEN1.SGM 13DEN1

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