Hogan Lovell OffshoreBook 2023 230809 OnlinePDF - Flipbook - Page 305
Offshore Wind Worldwide 2023
4.6 National Marine Fisheries Services
The NMFS, also known as "NOAA Fisheries,"
oversees the protection of U.S. ocean resources, helping to ensure safe and sustainable fishery practices and the conservation
of ocean ecosystems. For offshore wind developments, local fishery agencies, councils
and commissions work with NOAA to manage the fish population. NOAA must identify
the fish species that would be affected by an
offshore wind project.
BOEM has adopted draft Fisheries Guidance to provide details for developers to
consider the impacts of offshore wind on
this industry. 48 Developers must provide a
communications plan, social and economic
conditions of commercial and recreational
fisheries that may be affected by a project,
and measures to reduce adverse impacts
on commercial fisheries. Consideration has
also been given to compensatory mitigation
measures. BOEM also recommends that
developers meet with commercial fisheries
when developing project design elements to
reduce the risk to fisheries.
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5. INCENTIVES
FOR INVESTMENT
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), enacted in
the U.S. on August 16, 2022, provides a significant extension, and expansions, of U.S.
tax credits available to U.S. offshore wind
projects. This includes:
• An investment tax credit (ITC) of 30%
or more of the cost of building an offshore facility; and
• As an alternative to the ITC, a production tax credit—currently at a rate
of 2.75 cents (indexed each year for
inflation) per kWh of wind production—available for 10 years of electricity production from the facility.
Both of these tax incentives are available
under the IRA until after the year in which
U.S. electric power sector greenhouse gas
emissions are 25% or less of 2022 emission
levels.
In order to qualify for the full 30% ITC or 2.75
cent PTC, developers must abide by prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements
through the construction and operation of
the facility.
48 Reducing or Avoiding Impacts of Offshore Wind Energy on Fisheries | Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (boem.gov).
