Wind farm at sea.
Dave Hughes United Kingdom | moment | Getty Images
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The federal government Friday announced a record $4.37 billion sale of six offshore wind leases off the coasts of New York and New Jersey, furthering the Biden administration’s goal of moving from fossil fuels to renewables.
The auction, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Administration, is the first offshore wind lease sale under President Joe Biden. Once the sites are fully developed, sales of more than 488,000 acres are expected to yield up to 7 gigawatts of clean energy, enough to power nearly two million homes, the agency said.
As part of its broader agenda to tackle climate change, the Biden administration has committed to deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, enough to power 10 million homes. The US offshore wind industry offers a $109 billion revenue opportunity for supply chain companies over the next 10 years, according to a recent report by the Offshore Wind Special Initiative, an independent project in the School of Earth, Ocean and Environment at the University of Delaware.
The United States currently has only two offshore wind power plants, off the coasts of Rhode Island and Virginia. The Biden administration last year approved the development of the country’s first commercial offshore wind farm, located off the coast of Massachusetts. The Office of Ocean Energy Management will also review more than a dozen plans for commercial offshore wind energy installations by 2025.
During this week’s auction, offshore wind turbine developers were able to bid on six offshore wind lease areas. Bight Wind Holdings was the largest bidder, paying $1.1 billion for 125,964 acres off the coast of Long Beach Island, New Jersey.
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“Offshore wind sales this week shows one thing: the enthusiasm for the clean energy economy is undeniable and it is here to stay,” Home Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.
“The investments we see today will play an important role in delivering on the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to tackle the climate crisis and create thousands of high-paying union jobs across the country,” Halland said.
The National Oceanic Industry Association, an offshore energy organization, called the auction a turning point for the US offshore wind sector and said it reflected the industry’s continued growth.
“The record-breaking interest in the New York Bight lease is a testament to how bright the prospects are for offshore wind in the US and how much confidence developers have in the strength of the US offshore wind industry as a whole,” NOIA president Eric Milito He said so in a statement.
The American Clean Energy Association, a trade group representing the renewable energy industry, said it supports the Office of the Ocean Energy Administration’s goal of making six more lease sales through 2024.
“Developing these sales will create and support tens of thousands of new local jobs and breathe new life into our coastal communities,” ACPA CEO Heather Zitchell said in a statement.
“We challenge policymakers to bring greater certainty to this new industry and ensure that the American people take advantage of its growth and job-creating potential,” Zikal said. “The United States has long lagged behind other countries in developing offshore wind energy.”
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