Blue Economy - Part 1: Offshore Wind Energy Development in the West

The Blue Economy refers to that broad category of economic sectors and industries that seek to make sustainable and beneficial use of offshore marine resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
The Blue Economy includes many traditional economic sectors, such as shipping, fishing, coastal tourism, and telecommunications, in addition to new sectors such as renewable energy, desalination, seabed mining, and offshore carbon storage.
 
Offshore Wind Development in West is the first program of a multi-part series on the Blue Economy. Subsequent programs will cover offshore aquaculture, fisheries and other topics. 
 
In our first program, we will focus on the unique policy and regulatory regimes of California, Oregon and Washington that will influence how and where offshore wind projects develop. Our session will be comprised of two panels, focusing on the political landscape, as well as environmental regulatory and compliance issues for project development.

We will cover the following topics:

• Policy drivers and carbon mandates
• BOEM and NEPA Issues
• Coastal Regulatory Issues
• ESA Compliance and West Coast Species Concerns
• Department of Defense Coordination
• Tribal Coordination
• State Environmental Regulations
• Connectivity and Infrastructure Development
• Fishing Impacts
• Jones Act