Perkins Coie’s Ted Boling, Laura Morton, and Don Baur Author Report With the Ocean Conservancy Highlighting How Federal Government Can Boost US Offshore Wind Generation

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 19, 2022)—Perkins Coie partners Ted Boling, Laura Morton, and Don Baur have partnered with the Ocean Conservancy to author a comprehensive report on how concrete actions by the federal government could further develop the potential of U.S. offshore wind generation as a clean energy source.

The three environment and natural resources partners co-authored the report, "From Policy to Power: Federal Actions to Deliver on America's Offshore Potential", with Amy Trice, director of the Ocean Conservancy's Ocean Planning program. It outlines a series of actionable recommendations that if implemented would significantly increase the effectiveness, efficiency, and regulatory certainty of further developing U.S. offshore wind.

"Our analysis found that key federal agencies like Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) can enhance their collection of information, interagency coordination, and address the high demand for efficient environmental review and authorization decisions," said Ted Boling, a principal author who previously served at the President's Council on Environmental Quality as the country's top National Environmental Policy Act attorney. "None of these obstacles are insurmountable and our recommendations lean heavily on adaptation of existing legal and regulatory tools for this emerging clean energy industry."

"Despite the tremendous potential for offshore wind energy, there are only two operational projects with a total energy output of only 42 megawatts, which means the U.S. has to scale up offshore wind energy outputs a staggering 700 times in the next eight years," said Amy Trice, director of the Ocean Conservancy's Ocean Planning program. "If done right, offshore wind energy can help mitigate the climate crisis by preventing 78 million metric tons of C02 emissions and inject $12 billion in annual capital investments along both coasts while creating thousands of good American jobs."

The report calls for an integrated management approach that includes an efficient and effective planning and permitting process, evidence-based decisions, an adaptive monitoring framework and robust stakeholder engagement.

Its recommendations would help achieve the multiple topline priorities for oceans, coasts, and communities, as well as climate mitigation, conservation, and the equitable accrual of multiple benefits promised from offshore wind development. The recommendations in the report were developed from discussions with key federal ocean policy experts, federal agency staff, and ocean users.

The Ocean Conservancy works to protect the ocean from today's greatest global challenges. Together with its partners, the Ocean Conservancy creates science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it.