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The leased land has the potential to provide clean energy to over 2.2 million homes, continuing the government’s historic efforts to promote America’s offshore wind industry.

WASHINGTON – After completing the fifth offshore wind lease sale during the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of the Interior today announced the results of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management wind energy auction for two leases off the coast of the states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The sale – the first in the region in a decade – resulted in two preliminary winners and a bid volume of $92.65 million.

The interest and success of today’s sale represents an important milestone toward achieving the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind capacity by 2035.

“At the beginning of the government, our country had approved zero offshore wind energy projects. Today we have nine – enough to supply almost 5 million households with electricity. This is what the development of a clean energy transition looks like,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland“Together, we are demonstrating that in partnership with states, tribes, ocean users and industry, we can build an entirely new and sustainable industry that will meet our nation’s growing needs well into the future, create good-paying jobs and help mitigate the threat of the climate crisis.”

Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris administration, the Department has approved the nation’s first nine commercial offshore wind projects, conducted five offshore wind lease auctions, held a record sale off the coast of New York and the first-ever sales off the Pacific and Gulf coasts, and advanced the process to establish additional wind energy districts in Oregon and the Gulf of Maine. Earlier this year, Secretary Haaland announced a timeline for additional lease sales through 2028. To date, the Department has approved more than 13 gigawatts of clean energy from offshore wind projects—enough to power nearly 5 million homes. The Department has also taken steps to build a sustainable offshore wind industry by promoting the use of project labor contracts, improving workforce training, strengthening a domestic supply chain, and increasing collaboration with tribes, fisheries, communities, and ocean users.

“Since day one, the Biden-Harris administration has put the offshore wind industry into high gear – from creating new opportunities across the supply chain to expanding potential projects into new waters off our coasts. Today’s lease sale reflects the forward momentum we are seeing to bring clean energy to millions of American homes and create good-paying climate jobs,” said Ali Zaidi, White House National Climate Advisor“With nine commercial-scale projects approved in the last three years and more pending, we are using every tool available to grow America’s offshore wind industry while strengthening the nation’s power grid and addressing the climate crisis.”

Equinor Wind US LLC has tentatively won lease OCS-A 0557 for $75,001,001. It covers 101,443 acres and is located approximately 26 nautical miles (nm) from the Delaware Bay. Virginia Electric and Power Co has tentatively won lease OCS-A 0558 for $17,650,500. It covers 176,505 acres and is located approximately 35 nautical miles from the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. Six companies participated in the auction.

“Today’s lease sale represents an important milestone in meeting the demand for clean renewable energy on the East Coast,” said Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Elizabeth Klein“BOEM remains committed to responsible development of offshore wind energy in the Mid-Atlantic region in a manner that avoids, reduces or mitigates potential impacts on other ocean users and the marine environment while promoting local economic growth.”

The President’s Investing in America agenda aims to grow the American economy from the middle up and from the bottom up – from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure to spurring over half a trillion dollars in new investment in private manufacturing and clean energy in the United States to creating good-paying jobs and building a clean energy economy that fights the climate crisis and makes our communities more resilient. The Biden-Harris administration is leveraging these historic investments and using tools across federal agencies to support America’s growing offshore wind industry, resulting in the construction of the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind projects and new jobs in factories and shipyards across the country.

Today’s sale resulted in bidder credits totaling over $23 million. These bidder credits will result in over $11 million in investments in workforce training and the domestic supply chain, and an additional $11 million in offsets in the fishing sector.

In addition, the lease terms require that lessees make all reasonable efforts to enter into a project labor agreement covering the construction phase of all projects on the leased lands, develop tribal, agency and fishery communications plans, and submit semiannual reports on their engagement activities with tribes and communities.

The leases awarded today do not grant the right to build or operate an offshore wind facility. Rather, a lease grants the right to submit a project plan for review by BOEM. BOEM will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the specific impacts of all project proposals before making decisions on approving a proposed construction and operation plan. Environmental Impact Statements would be prepared in consultation with tribes and appropriate government agencies and supplemented by input from stakeholders, marine users and the public.

BOEM will also continue to convene the Central Atlantic Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force to enhance collaboration and explore and identify potential additional areas for future offshore wind leases. These ongoing intergovernmental efforts include a June 2024 Memorandum of Understanding outlining joint work by the Biden-Harris administration and the State of Maryland to evaluate additional areas offshore Maryland that could become wind energy areas and support the development of offshore wind projects.

BOEM is committed to workforce development and safety and to building a sustainable domestic supply chain that can support the U.S. offshore wind industry. For more information about today’s sale, including a map of the lease areas, bid credit requirements and lease terms, visit BOEM’s website.

Courtesy of Ministry of the Interior.