Department of the Interior Secretary, Deb Haaland, recently announced plans for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to sell offshore leases by 2025 to help with the development of offshore wind energy.
Haaland made the announcement at the American Clean Power’s Offshore Wind Power Conference and Exhibition in Boston. The plan aligns with the Biden administration’s goal to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy by 2030.
“The Interior Department is laying out an ambitious roadmap as we advance the administration’s plans to confront climate change, create good-paying jobs, and accelerate the nation’s transition to a cleaner energy future,” Haaland said. “This timetable provides two crucial ingredients for success: increased certainty and transparency. Together, we will meet our clean energy goals while addressing the needs of other ocean users and potentially impacted communities. We have big goals to achieve a clean energy economy and Interior is meeting the moment.”
The offshore sites are located in Oregon, California, Maine, New York, the Central Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and the Carolinas.
BOEM continues to work on refining its process for identifying additional Wind Energy Areas that may be suitable for offshore wind energy leasing. . In addition, BOEM commits to using the best available science as well as knowledge from ocean users and other stakeholders.
“We are working to facilitate a pipeline of projects that will establish confidence for the offshore wind industry,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton said. “At the same time, we want to reduce potential conflicts as much as we can while meeting the Administration’s goal to deploy 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030. This means we will engage early and often with all stakeholders prior to identifying any new Wind Energy Areas.”
