1
Offshore Renewable Energy Planning Informed by Applied Science Research in the Gulf of Mexico Rebecca E. Green 1 , Suzanne Tegen 2 , Walter Musial 2 1 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, New Orleans, LA 2 National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Boulder, CO INTRODUCTION The U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is committed to developing, funding, and managing rigorous scientific research specifically to inform policy decisions on the development of energy and mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). For over 40 years, BOEM and its predecessor agencies have funded applied science research in all OCS regions, including significant investments in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) across a range of biological, physical, and social science disciplines. New research projects are informing BOEM’s expanding role with planning and leasing for offshore renewable energy development in Federal offshore waters. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) authorized BOEM to issue leases, easements, and rights-of-way to allow for renewable energy development on the OCS. Renewable energy resources under BOEM’s jurisdiction include, but are not limited to, offshore wind, wave, currents, and solar. During the last decade, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOI have advanced a national strategy to facilitate the development of an offshore renewable industry. In 2015, DOE’s Wind Vision provided a comprehensive analysis of future pathways for the wind industry. In 2016, BOEM’s Strategic Framework reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing domestic energy diversity, including through development of renewable OCS energy resources. In 2017, DOE and DOI jointly issued the National Offshore Wind Strategy, which provided an updated strategy for federal engagement and investment in offshore wind research. Federal agencies have provided vision and guidance to facilitate the development of a U.S. offshore renewable energy industry. DOE Wind Vision identifies the Gulf Coast region contributing 10% of U.S. offshore wind energy (8.6 GW) by 2050. Fig. 1. Wind Vision Analyses. (A) Scenarios demonstrate increasing contributions of both onshore and offshore wind power to national electricity demand through 2050. (B) Percent of offshore wind anticipated to be generated in each region by 2050, including a significant amount from the GoM. GULF OF MEXICO FEASIBILITY STUDY In alignment with the National Offshore Wind Strategy, BOEM’s Environmental Studies Program is funding the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to perform an offshore renewable energy feasibility study across technology types for the GoM. The goal of this 2-year study is to survey potential offshore renewable energy resources and quantify the feasibility of associated technologies to inform regional strategic planning. The study is focusing on commercial-scale, grid- connected projects versus distributed projects. Gulf Coast state governments (TX, LA, MS, AL, and FL) have actively participated in informing and assessing study results. WIND WAVE CURRENTS SOLAR GOVERNMENT COLLABORATION OCEAN DATA PORTALS A. SCENARIOS B. REGIONS Initial study results are supportive of future offshore wind development in the GoM. This ongoing study will next provide a geospatial regional economic analysis for offshore wind, including projected costs for Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and Levelized Avoided Cost of Energy (LACE). Following site selection, site-specific physical and economic analyses will be performed for typical projects in the GoM. Fig. 3. Average modeled annual wind speeds at 100-m hub height. (A) Gross wind resource potential. (B) Technical wind resource potential, filtering out wind speeds < 7 m/s and water depths > 1,000 m. The first task of this study surveyed and assessed the technical and economic potential for a broad range of offshore renewable energy technologies. The ocean-based technologies examined included: offshore wind, wave energy, tidal energy, ocean current, offshore solar energy, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), cold water source cooling, and hydrogen (as a storage medium to potentially utilize pipeline infrastructure). A broad range of energy types was included to generate an inclusive and cooperative study with the Gulf Coast states, but BOEM will only regulate the sources called out by EPAct. A broad range of ocean-based renewable energy technologies was assessed for technical and economic potential in GoM. Each technology was evaluated based on the resource adequacy, technology readiness, and cost competitiveness, on a scale from 1-5 (Table 1). The highest score (5) represents the highest resource adequacy, the most mature technology, and the lowest cost potential relative to the other technologies, respectively. For each technology, a score was given in each of these categories, with equal weighting for each category. The sum of these three numbers was the given score for each technology. The results conclude that offshore wind received the highest composite score of 13 out of a possible 15. GoM technology assessment scoring resulted in the highest feasibility for offshore wind, followed by solar and tidal energy. Technology Type Resource Adequacy Technology Readiness Cost Competitiveness Potential Total Score Offshore Wind 5 4 4 13 Offshore Solar Energy 3 3 3 9 Tidal Energy 2 3 3 8 OTEC 3 2 2 7 Wave Energy 1 2 2 5 Ocean Current 1 2 2 5 Cold Water Source Cooling 1 4 N/A - Hydrogen Conversion N/A 3 1 - TASK #1: SURVEY OF TECHNOLOGIES FUTURE STUDY TASKS Fig. 2. Study Domain. The domain encompasses the entire northern GoM from Texas through the Florida Keys, including both state and federal waters. A. B. WIND WILDLIFE RESEARCH Federal agencies work collaboratively to support stewardship of U.S. waters by understanding and mitigating the environmental risks associated with offshore wind development. BOEM’s Environmental Studies Program has a long history of funding biological and ecological studies to understand and help minimize the impacts of offshore renewable energy development on marine species and habitat. Ongoing studies include regional surveys for protected species, tracking of birds and bats, and understanding fish interactions with infrastructure. BOEM is currently partnering with NOAA, USFWS, and USGS on the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS). This 3-year field program is providing seasonal data on broad- scale abundance and distributions of marine mammals, seabirds, and sea turtles in the region, using aerial surveys, ship surveys, and animal telemetry. The first year of data collection was just completed, providing thousands of new observations of marine animal sightings across the northern GoM. Fig. 4. Track lines for GoMMAPPS marine wildlife surveys. (A) Aerial surveys cover coastal and continental shelf waters. (B) Ship surveys are conducted from the 100-m isobath out to the U.S. EEZ. BOEM is also currently funding a spatial ecology study on brown pelicans in the GoM, which is being performed by researchers in Dr. Patrick Jodice’s lab at Clemson University. The goal of the study is to enhance our understanding of pelican movement patterns and habitat use in the region. A total of 77 individuals were marked with satellite tags at nesting sites along the Gulf coast, resulting in nearly 170,000 GPS locations collected across the GoM Large Marine Ecosystem of the U.S., Mexico, and Cuba. All data collected through BOEM’s Environmental Studies Program is made publicly available through ocean data portals and repositories. National and regional portals exist to provide information in support of ocean planning efforts. The national portal at MarineCadastre.gov was developed through a partnership between NOAA and BOEM. The website is an integrated marine information system that provides data, tools, and technical support for ocean and Great Lakes planning. MarineCadastre.gov was designed specifically to support renewable energy siting on the U.S. OCS (e.g., Fig. 6), but is also being used for other ocean-related efforts. In the future, BOEM will continue to actively partner with other agencies on the renewable energy research needed to focus regulatory efforts on the most important environmental and human-use impacts, as well as to collect data to inform wind farm feasibility, siting, and design. A. B. PROTECTED SPECIES SURVEYS AVIAN TELEMETRY STUDIES Fig. 5. Brown pelican locations. Satellite tracks from tagged birds demonstrate significant variation in the distances travelled by different individuals. Three classes of migration were observed: resident (< 200 km), short-distance (200-800 km), and long-distance (1,000-2,500 km). Fig. 6. Wind energy and ocean planning. For western Louisiana, contoured wind speeds are overlaid with other uses of the marine habitat, including piping plover critical habitat, shipping lanes, and oil and gas leases. MOVING FORWARD Offshore Wind Resource Potential Critical Habitat Shipping Safety Fairway BOEM Oil and Gas Leases
