The year of 2016, at least through August, has been quite remarkable for both the U.S. offshore wind energy industry and the small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) industry. On August 18th Deepwater Wind made history by completing construction of the nation’s first offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island with operations expected to commence later this year. Deepwater Wind’s Block Island project marks the beginning of a new era for American offshore wind energy and it seems fitting that the first state with “steel in the water” and “blades in the air” is the Ocean State. On August 29th the much awaited Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) final rules allowing for greater integration of non-recreational operations of small (weighing less than 55 pounds) unmanned aerial vehicles (more commonly known as drones) into the National Airspace System (NAS) became effective. The small UAS rules will help launch essentially endless commercial applications of this rapidly evolving game changing technology further expanding the UAS industry for the economic benefit of numerous existing businesses and other industries, including the fledgling U.S. offshore wind energy industry. U.S. Offshore Wind Development Conceptual No MoreThe overall U.S. wind energy industry is experiencing positive trends in that the cost of wind power has declined over the past several years, the evolution of innovative turbine technology will continue to progress, the recent extension of the wind energy production tax credit is providing a strong degree of regulatory certainty for the industry and more efficient construction methods have made wind power today more viable in the power sector than ever before. High profile corporate entities are unilaterally pursuing their own power purchase agreements of wind and other renewable energy sources and there has been an increase in utilities seeking to invest in wind energy developments. In order to further address carbon pollution, various states, including California, Hawaii and New York have already or are in the process of modifying their renewable portfolio standards to meet their energy needs with a higher utilization from renewable energy sources. It has been widely known for a long time that a robust wind energy resource exists offshore and many of our nation’s urban high energy consumption areas are located very near the coast. Given that fact, we should certainly expect an increased focus by coastal states, urban communities and industry stakeholders on harnessing that clean energy resource while securing energy independence along with stimulating its dynamic economic impact and reducing carbon emissions. As of July this year, Massachusetts now has a new law that in part, specifically calls for the use of 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind energy within the next decade. The U.S. Department of Energy is setting up for the provision of research funding in connection with offshore wind farm projects to be sited off the coasts of New Jersey, Maine and a freshwater wind farm in Lake Erie offshore from Cleveland, Ohio. The U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
(BOEM) has been busy working with Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Forces for several Atlantic coastal states including Southeastern states. Through its offshore renewable energy program, BOEM to date has awarded 11 commercial leases off the Atlantic coast with 9 of them processed as competitive lease sales (2 off New Jersey, 2 off Rhode Island- Massachusetts, 2 off Massachusetts, 2 off Maryland and 1 off Virginia). BOEM also announced in August a proposed sale notice and request for interest for commercial leasing for wind power on the outer continental shelf offshore North Carolina (Kitty Hawk, NC) and announced in June a proposal to undertake a competitive lease sale offshore of New York at a time later this year. In addition, as of August BOEM has received unsolicited lease requests for floating wind farm projects in the Pacific (3 off Hawaii and 1 off California) for which BOEM is compiling indications of interest as well as public comments. With Deepwater Wind’s Block Island project now fully constructed, the U.S. offshore wind energy industry’s horizon is quite bright as it has finally demonstrated itself and is now ready to grow and adapt to address any challenges this nascent industry may face going forward.
Small UAS Cleared For TakeoffThe FAA’s final rule for small UAS (commonly referred to as “Part 107” since the FAA added a new part 107 to Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations) has streamlined the regulatory requirements in order to more meaningfully integrate small UAS into the NAS. One of the major previous burdens that the small UAS rule has now removed was the requirement that a person seeking to operate a small UAS for commercial purposes had to have obtained a manned aircraft pilot license (at least a sport or private pilot’s license) which could easily be an expensive and time-consuming endeavor to achieve. Instead, under the small UAS rule a person commercially operating a small unmanned aircraft must be at least 16 years old and hold either a remote pilot airman certificate with a small UAS rating or be under the direct supervision of someone else who holds a remote pilot certificate. In order to qualify for a remote pilot certificate one would have to pass an initial aeronautical knowledge exam at an approved FAA testing center or hold an existing part 61 pilot certificate and complete a small UAS online training course provided by the FAA. While the FAA rule opens up tremendous small UAS commercial application opportunities that will in turn further generate significant job creation and economic impact, there are however, operational limitations that need to be carefully observed in order to comply with the new small UAS rule.Some of the key limitations include that the unmanned aircraft, including its payload (cameras and other data sensors that are installed) must weigh less than 55 lbs. The small unmanned aircraft must be operated within the visual line-of-sight (VLOS) of the remote pilot in command. In other words, a remote pilot in command may not operate his or her small unmanned aircraft beyond the visual line-of-sight (BVLOS). Small unmanned aircraft may not operate over any persons not directly participating in the operation, not under a covered structure, and not in a covered stationary vehicle. Small unmanned aircraft can only be operated in daylight or civil twilight (30 minutes before official sunrise to 30 minutes after official sunset, local time) with appropriate anti-collision lighting. The maximum ground speed for a small unmanned aircraft is 100 mph (87 knots). Maximum altitude for a small unmanned aircraft is 400 feet above ground level (AGL), or if higher than 400 feet AGL, the small unmanned aircraft remains within 400 feet of a structure. A minimum weather visibility of 3 miles from the remote pilot’s control station. Operations from a moving vehicle are prohibited unless the operation is over a sparsely populated area. A remote pilot in command is required to conduct preflight inspections before commencing a mission. Importantly, the FAA has allowed for some potential flexibility for a remote pilot in command’s compliance with these requirements by acknowledging in the rule that the operational restrictions “are waivable if the applicant demonstrates that his or her operation can safely be conducted under the terms of a certificate of waiver.” Thus, if a remote pilot in command sees a need to conduct small UAS operations at night or perhaps BVLOS then a waiver of the daylight and VLOS restrictions can be requested of the FAA.However, the FAA’s issuance of the requested waiver will depend on whether it has been demonstrated that deviation from the subject operation limitation can be conducted safely. The FAA’s new Part 107 rule is applicable for UAS operations extending out to 12 nautical miles (13.8 miles) from the U.S. coast. For civil UAS operations beyond the U.S. territorial sea limit an operator will need to comply with International Standards, Annex 2-Rules of the Air to the Convention on International Civil Aviation and certain provisions of 14 CFR 91, in particular 14 CFR 91.703.


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