Walter Cruickshank and Jim Bennett, BOEM

Our guests this episode are Walter Cruickshank and Jim Bennett, the Acting Director and the Program Manager for Offshore Renewables, respectively, at BOEM – the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which is the agency responsible for all energy leases in federal waters. Last week BOEM held an online auction for three wind energy areas south of Massachusetts. The auction was scheduled for one day but because there were so many rounds of bidding, BOEM had to extend the bidding into a second day. Not only that, the winning bid amounts blew away all of BOEM’s previous offshore wind leases. So naturally we begin the conversation by discussing the auction results – why they are so impressive, what the details are and what’s next for the winning bidders. Walter and Jim discuss how the industry has changed in just these past three years since these same lease areas were first offered at auction with no bidders, and then expand the conversation to talk about some of BOEM’s other offshore wind activity around the country, and what milestones they anticipate in the coming months and years. We look ahead to next year’s IPF at which BOEM always has a strong presence, and we close with Walter and Jim each reflecting on the state of the US offshore wind industry today and what it means for them personally having been involved in it from the very beginning. Recorded December 17, 2018. Published December 18, 2018.