Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will hold its first-ever commercial offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Maine on Oct. 29. The lease area could support 13.2 GW in generation capacity, according to BOEM.
- BOEM opted to cut 120,000 acres from the originally proposed area in order to protect offshore fishing and sensitive habitats, according to an announcement issued Monday. However, at 850,000 acres the lease is still on track to be the largest of its kind in the U.S., according to Oceantic Network, which represents the offshore wind industry.
- Water depths in the Gulf of Maine will require the use of floating offshore wind platforms. Taken with a previously issued research lease, the lease sale represents a “monumental step forward” for floating offshore wind technology, Oceantic Network CEO Liz Burdock said.
Dive Insight:
The eight leases to be auctioned in October could generate 13.2 GW of electricity if fully developed, according to BOEM. That's down somewhat from the 15 GW originally envisioned for the region's first offshore lease, but still nearly equivalent to the 15 GW of offshore wind projects approved by the Biden-Harris administration since 2021.
“The growing enthusiasm for the clean energy future is infectious. Today’s announcement — which builds on the execution of the nation’s first floating offshore wind energy research lease in Maine last month — is the result of years of thoughtful coordination between our team, the Gulf of Maine states, industry and the Tribes and ocean users who share our interest in the health and longevity of our ocean,” Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in a statement.
Seven companies have expressed interest in and are qualified for the upcoming auction, according to BOEM, including Avangrid Renewables; Corio USA ProjectCo; Diamond Wind North America; Maine Offshore Wind Development; OW Gulf of Maine; Repsol Renewables North America; and TotalEnergies SBE US.
The research lease, which was awarded on Aug. 19 to Pine Tree Offshore Wind, covers roughly 15,000 acres and will support up to 12 floating offshore wind turbines and 144 MW of renewable energy.
The research lease and the upcoming auction stand to establish the Gulf of Maine and the surrounding states, including Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as “a hub of innovation in floating offshore wind technology,” said Stephanie Francoeur, a spokesperson for the Oceantic Network.
Data from the pilot project will be made public to support additional future development in the Gulf of Maine and other regions that would require the use of floating platforms, including most of the West coast. The Department of the Interior expects to hold 12 additional offshore wind lease auctions, including sales in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific, by the end of 2028.
