The Biden-Harris administration has completed its sixth offshore wind lease sale, marking the first commercial sale for floating offshore wind on the Atlantic Coast. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) conducted the sale in the Gulf of Maine, resulting in two provisional winners across four lease areas and over $21.9 million in winning bids.
This development is part of the administration's efforts to achieve President Biden’s target of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind energy by 2035. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland stated, “Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, we’ve been committed to achieving our ambitious clean energy goals...Today’s successful auction marks yet another critical step in our fight against climate change."
The Department of the Interior has approved ten commercial-scale offshore wind projects since President Biden took office, along with more than 15 gigawatts from these projects. Six offshore wind lease auctions have been held so far, including a record-breaking sale off New York and first-ever sales off Pacific and Gulf Coasts.
Avangrid Renewables, LLC secured Lease OCS-564 for $4,928,250 and Lease OCS-568 for $6,244,850. Invenergy NE Offshore Wind, LLC won Lease OCS-562 at $4,892,700 and Lease OCS-567 at $5,889,000. Combined these leases could power more than 2.3 million homes with clean energy.
BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein emphasized collaboration with local communities and stakeholders: “To ensure we got the process...right, we’ve engaged in over a hundred outreach efforts." She added that working closely with states and industry leaders is crucial for building a sustainable new industry.
President Biden's Investing in America agenda aims to grow the American economy through infrastructure rebuilding and fostering private sector manufacturing investments. The recent lease sale will support floating offshore wind development in deep water sites as part of this initiative.
Today's sale included over $5.4 million total bidding credits aimed at workforce training and domestic supply chain development as well as fisheries compensatory mitigation.
The awarded leases do not authorize construction but allow lessees to submit project plans for BOEM review. An Environmental Impact Statement will be developed to analyze specific impacts before approving any construction plans.
BOEM remains committed to workforce development and establishing a durable domestic supply chain to sustain U.S. offshore wind energy initiatives. Further details about today's sale are available on BOEM's website.
