Introduction - Structural Integrity of Offshore Wind Turbines - page 4

BOX 1-1 (continued)
Regulatory Timeline for Renewable Energy Development on the U.S. OCS

activities. The CVA is also to ensure that these activities are
conducted according to the approved applications.

2009 On August 3, MMS published its “Guidelines for the Min-

erals Management Service Renewable Energy Framework,
July 2009.” The guidelines are divided into six chapters,
covering qualification requirements; definitions; and lease
and grant conveyance, administration, and payments.

The guidelines state that five additional chapters will be
“posted at a later date.” One of them, Chapter 9, will
“explain the requirements for facility design, fabrication,
and installation.” Chapter 10 will cover requirements for
environmental and safety management, inspection, and
facility assessment. Chapter 11 will discuss decommis-
sioning requirements.

2010 MMS decided that, rather than publishing the five chapters
above as part of the “Guidelines for the Minerals Manage-
ment Service Renewable Energy Framework,” it would
develop separate guidelines for each topic and issue them as
“Notices to Lessees” (personal communication, J. Cushing,
BOEMRE, Oct. 1, 2010).
S OURCE : MMS n.d.

regulations set out in great detail what must be included in these reports—
for example, structural drawings, a summary of the environmental data
used in the design, a complete set of design calculations, a geotechnical
report, the industry standards proposed for use in fabrication, and details
on the offshore equipment to be used for installation. 6 However, the reg-

6

The list is not complete. See 30 CFR 285 for details.