Commercial Lease for the Cape Wind Energy Project

This NOA is being published to announce the availability of the Lease in accordance with the requirements of 30 CFR 285.231. The Lease is for the Cape Wind Energy Project ("Project") which grants Cape Wind Associates, LLC, ("CWA") the exclusive right to conduct certain activities within the leased area, subject to the terms and conditions of the Lease, and applicable laws and regulations.

The Lease requires CWA to pay $88,278 in annual rent prior to production, and a two to seven percent operating fee rate following the start of production during the 33-year lease (a 5-year site assessment term and a 28-year commercial operations term).

The rent and operating fee are based on the requirements set forth in 30 CFR part 285, subpart E. The Wind Power Project plan calls for 130 wind turbines capable of generating a maximum electric output of 468 megawatts with an anticipated average output of 183 megawatts. Construction and operation of the Project cannot begin until BOEMRE reviews and approves plans submitted by CWA that detail construction and operation of the Project in accordance with the Rule.

Authority: The NOA of the Lease issuance is published pursuant to 30 CFR 285.231.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 ("EPAct") and amendments to the OCSLA gave the Secretary of the Department of the Interior the authority to issue leases, easements, and rights-of-way for renewable energy activities on the OCS.

The Secretary delegated this authority to BOEMRE, formerly the Minerals Management Service. Following passage of EPAct in 2005, CWA submitted an application for Project to BOEMRE. In 2009, BOEMRE finalized the Rule that governed the issuance of leases, easements, and rights-of-way and the regulation of offshore renewable energy activities.

The Project plan calls for 130 3.6 megawatt wind turbines, each with a maximum blade height of 440 feet, to be arranged in a grid pattern on the OCS in Nantucket Sound. The transmission cables for the wind farm, if approved, would pass through Massachusetts’ submerged lands.

With a maximum electric output of 468 megawatts and an average anticipated output of 183 megawatts, the Wind Power Project is expected to generate electricity equivalent to three-quarters of the Cape and nearby islands’ electricity needs. Each of the 130 wind turbines would generate electricity independently. Solid dielectric submarine inner-array cables from each wind turbine generator would interconnect within the array and terminate on an electrical service platform ("ESP"), which would serve as the common interconnection point for all of the wind turbines.

The Wind Power Project plan calls for a submarine transmission cable system approximately 12.5 miles in length from the ESP to a landfall location in Yarmouth, Massachusetts (7.6 miles of which would fall within the state of Massachusetts’ jurisdiction).

www.boemre.gov/offshore/RenewableEnergy/CapeWind.htm