The sale of six offshore wind leases off the coast of New York and New Jersey netted the US government a record $4.37 billion, a major step in the Biden administration's goal of a future powered by renewable energy.
The Biden administration's first offshore lease sale was held in the Atlantic Ocean between Cape May, N.J., and Montauk Point, N.Y.
The auctioned acres are expected to generate up to 7,000 megawatt, enough to power 2 million homes.
Between that project and others currently under review, the Interior Department hopes to see some 2,000 turbines in Massachusetts to North Carolina by the end of this decade.
The enthusiasm for the clean energy economy is obvious and it is here to stay, according to the Interior Secretary. She said the lease sales part of the administration was committed to tackle the climate crisis and create thousands of good-paying, union jobs.
The three-day, 64-round bidding war among more than a dozen companies for a triangular section of ocean known as the New York Bight surpassed expectations. The oil and gas lease sale was the highest-grossing in history, according to the Interior Department. The previous record of $1,000 per acre was more than 10 times the previous record of $10,700 per acre. Industry analysts said they were surprised by the level of interest and attributed it to growing investment in offshore wind as well as strong state and federal policies.
The record-breaking interest in the New York Bight lease sale is testament to how bright the American offshore wind outlook is and how confident developers are in the strength of the U.S. offshore wind industry.
Mr. Milito said the auction was a landmark moment for American offshore wind.
The Biden administration wants to develop 30,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by the year 2030. The administration cited a report that said investment in the offshore wind industry will be worth $109 billion over the next ten years.
Heather Zichal, chief executive of the American Clean Power Association, which represents wind, solar, storage and transmission companies, said the lease sale heralded a new era of demand for clean energy.
She said that this is a major step forward for the U.S. in terms of standing up a new industry, domestic manufacturing opportunities that come with it and another market signal in favor of U.S. energy independence.
The New York Bight was designated a priority offshore wind area by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Secretary Haaland and the governors of New York and New Jersey issued a shared vision for bolstering the offshore wind energy domestic supply chain.
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The Biden administration gave final approval to the nation's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Mass., in the past year. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is expected to review 16 plans to build and operate commercial offshore wind facilities by the year 2025.
Timothy Fox, a vice president and analyst with Clearview Energy Partners, a Washington-based research firm, said he believed state policies had boosted investment as much as federal initiatives. He noted that New York and New Jersey had ambitious targets for offshore wind deployment.
The fishing industry has argued that wind farms will conflict with prime commercial fishing areas for scallops, clams and other seafood.
While we expect the Biden administration to point to the auction as an example of its green energy credentials, we caution that, long term, the greatest legal risk facing offshore wind could be the potential impact projects have on protected species.
Federal restrictions can be unforgiving when an energy project imposes material risks on a listed species.
The Interior Department said that it had reduced the area of the lease sale to avoid conflict with ocean users and minimize environmental impacts.
The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission must conduct an anti-competitiveness review before the New York Bight lease is finalized.
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