DOE considered providing funding to Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) to construct and operate a 20.7 MW offshore wind project (Project Icebreaker), approximately 8 miles offshore of Cleveland, Ohio in Lake Erie.

What's New

October 2023 - The U.S. Department of Energy is no longer funding this project.  For more information, see History of Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects | Department of Energy.

October 2018 – Pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a final Environmental Assessment (EA) for Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation's Project Icebreaker, an Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration Project, Offshore Cleveland, Ohio, in Lake Erie (DOE/EA-2045).  The final EA identifies and analyzes the potential impacts to the human environment that would occur if DOE authorized the expenditure of federal funding in support of Project Icebreaker.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Coast Guard were cooperating agencies in the preparation of the final EA.

DOE has also issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the proposed action. An environmental impact statement will not be prepared. 

See the final EA here.
See the FONSI here.

May 2018 - DOE conducted required consultations and reviewed agency and public comments received on the draft EA, in anticipation of publishing the final EA after all consultations are complete.

August 2017 - DOE, as lead Federal agency, with input from the of the USACE and the USCG as cooperating Federal agencies, prepared a draft Environmental Assessment, pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to analyze and describe the potential environmental impacts that would be associated with providing funding to Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) to support the development, including design, construction, and commissioning of a wind energy demonstration project called Project Icebreaker.  The public comment period on the draft EA ended October 10, 2017.  See the draft EA here.

Overview

Learn more about the U.S. Department of Energy’s Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects.