Deb Haaland Secretary at U.S. Department of Interior | Official website
Following the completion of the fifth offshore wind lease sale held during the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of the Interior announced results from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s wind energy auction for two lease areas offshore Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The sale resulted in two provisional winners and $92.65 million in winning bids.
The interest and success of today’s sale represent a significant milestone toward achieving the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind energy by 2035.
“At the start of the Administration, our nation had approved zero offshore wind energy projects. Today, we have nine - enough to power nearly 5 million homes. This is what developing a clean energy transition looks like,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “Together, we are demonstrating that, in partnership with states, Tribes, ocean users and industry, we can build an entirely new and sustainable industry that will meet the growing demands of our nation far into the future while creating good-paying jobs and helping mitigate the threat of the climate crisis.”
Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, the Department has approved nine commercial-scale offshore wind projects, held five offshore wind lease auctions—including a record-breaking sale offshore New York—and advanced processes to establish additional Wind Energy Areas in Oregon and Gulf of Maine. Earlier this year, Secretary Haaland announced a schedule for additional lease sales through 2028. Thus far, more than 13 gigawatts of clean energy from offshore wind projects have been approved—enough to power nearly 5 million homes.
“Since Day One, the Biden-Harris administration has turbocharged the offshore wind industry – from creating new opportunities up and down the supply chain to expanding potential projects to new waters across our coasts. Today’s lease sale reflects forward momentum to power millions of American homes with clean energy and create good-paying climate jobs,” said White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi.
Equinor Wind US LLC provisionally won Lease OCS-A 0557 at $75,001,001 for an area approximately 26 nautical miles from Delaware Bay. Virginia Electric and Power Co provisionally won Lease OCS-A 0558 at $17,650,500 for an area approximately 35 nautical miles from Chesapeake Bay's entrance. Six companies participated in this auction.
“Today’s lease sale represents a major milestone in meeting demand for clean renewable energy along the East Coast,” said Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Elizabeth Klein.
The President’s Investing in America agenda aims to grow the American economy through infrastructure rebuilding and driving private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments. The Biden-Harris administration is leveraging these investments to support growing American offshore wind industries leading to construction projects nationwide.
Today’s sale resulted in over $23 million total bidding credits which will fund workforce training and domestic supply chain investments amounting to over $11 million each for fisheries compensatory mitigation.
Lease stipulations require lessees to make reasonable efforts to enter project labor agreements covering construction stages; develop communication plans for Tribes, agencies, fisheries; and provide semi-annual reports on engagement activities with Tribes and communities.
The leases awarded do not authorize construction or operation but provide rights to submit project plans for BOEM review. BOEM will develop Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) analyzing specific impacts before approving any proposed construction plans.
BOEM will continue convening Central Atlantic Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meetings to enhance collaboration exploring potential future leasing areas. These efforts include a June 2024 Memorandum of Understanding outlining joint work between Biden-Harris administration and Maryland evaluating additional areas off Maryland's shores supporting development projects.
BOEM remains committed to workforce development safety establishing durable domestic supply chains sustaining U.S. offshore wind industries. More information about today’s sale can be found on BOEM’s website.
