This month, the Interior Department is taking swift action to advance offshore wind initiatives in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said, “These milestones represent great potential for addressing climate change through a clean, reliable, domestic energy resource while providing good-paying jobs. We have an exciting road ahead, and Interior is up to the challenge! As we make progress toward deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, the Department will continue to ensure any development of clean energy resources is done responsibly and sustainably.”
The Department of the Interior is expecting a large surge in wind energy in the coming years. They are preparing for more than half a dozen off-shore lease sales by 2025, in a variety of locations, including the Gulf of Maine, New York Bight, Central Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, as well as offshore in the Carolinas, California and Oregon.
On Oct. 28, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a proposed sale notice for Carolina Long Bay, offshore of North and South Carolina. This is just one of the proposed sales that the DOI is looking into. The Mayflower Wind Proposal includes construction of more than 130 wind turbines, and the BOEM is holding a series of meetings, starting Nov. 10.
