The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced the establishment of the Partnership for an Offshore Wind Energy Regional Observation Network (POWERON).
This public-private partnership between BOEM and offshore wind lessees aims to enhance the quality and consistency of scientific data collected in lease areas while conserving and optimising resources.
As part of this initiative, BOEM requires offshore wind lessees to conduct long-term passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) to measure sound levels and monitor the presence of vocalising marine species, such as whales and dolphins. Through the POWERON programme, lessees can make annual contributions to fulfil their long-term PAM requirements via an approved third party.
The benefits of conducting monitoring through POWERON include:
- Data Consistency: Research will utilise similar instrument types, consistent calibration, and standard methods for data processing, leading to more robust results.
- Resource Conservation/Optimisation: POWERON can pool resources among partners, such as refurbishing instruments across neighbouring lease areas during the same expedition, thus saving on vessel time costs.
- Comprehensive Data Sets: Data collected from various locations and areas will be processed collectively, providing a more complete understanding of the presence, behaviour, and movements of whales.
Annual contributions to POWERON will cover the costs of instrumentation, vessel time, data processing, and analysis conducted by authorised third parties. These contributions will also fund the archiving of data at a public passive acoustic data repository hosted by the National Centers for Environmental Information.
BOEM has established an interagency agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center to conduct PAM in the Atlantic Ocean off southern New England. Additionally, BOEM has signed a contract with the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative to carry out other POWERON monitoring along the eastern seaboard.
To date, three offshore wind energy projects have opted into POWERON: Revolution Wind and South Fork Wind (both Ørsted projects) and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (a Dominion Energy project).
