US Administration to hold offshore wind power auction in February

• 2 years ago (2022-01-13)
• David Flin

North America 1022 Offshore wind 121

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The Biden Administration has announced that it will hold its first offshore wind auction in February, offering nearly 500 000 acres off the coast of New York and New Jersey for wind energy projects.

Deb Haaland, Interior Secretary, said the Feb 23 auction in the New York Bight region will allow offshore wind developers to bid on six lease areas, the most ever offered in an auction in the USA for offshore wind energy projects. He said: “The Biden-Harris administration has made tackling the climate crisis a centrepiece of our agenda, and offshore wind opportunities like the New York Bight present a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fight climate change and create good-paying, union jobs in the USA.”

The administration also said it is accelerating the deployment of new transmission lines to make the grid more reliable and resilient in the face of intensifying extreme weather.

President Biden has set a goal to install 30 GW of offshore wind power by 2030. The administration has approved the country’s first two commercial-scale offshore wind projects in federal waters: the 800 MW Vineyard Wind project off the Massachusetts coast and the 130 MW South Fork wind farm near New York’s Long Island.

Haaland said the Interior Department hopes to conduct seven offshore wind lease sales by 2025, including the New York Bight and sales offshore in the Carolinas and California later this year.