Baltimore, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Department of Interior today completed its highly anticipated New York Bight lease auction, the first offshore wind auction to take place in nearly four years. The roughly 480,000-acre are off the New York and New Jersey coast was divided up into six lease areas awarded to Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Bight (EDF and Shell), Attentive Energy (EnBW and Total), Bight Wind Holdings (RWE and National Grid), Invenergy Wind Offshore, Mid-Atlantic Offshore Wind (Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners), and OW Ocean Winds East (EDP Renewables and ENGIE.)
The New York Bight is expected to produce up to seven gigawatts of renewable energy – enough to power millions of homes – and puts the nation on a path to reach the Biden Administration’s goal of 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030. Although this was the first lease sale under President Biden, the administration committed to holding additional lease sales in the Carolinas, California, Gulf of Mexico, Central Atlantic, Oregon, and the Gulf of Maine by 2025 – the first steps towards the goal of deploying 110 GW by 2050. The auction also furthers New Jersey and New York efforts to procure 7.5 GW and 9 GW respectively and continue building one of the largest combined markets in the world.
The following statement can be attributed to Liz Burdock, CEO of the Business Network for Offshore Wind, the only non-profit focused solely on growing the offshore wind industry and its supply chain:
“The New York Bight auction concluded today after days of intense bidding that reflect the great advancement of the U.S. offshore wind industry and the pent-up demand for new lease areas. The New York Bight benefited from clear political support, an emerging, yet robust, local supply chain, and a years-long preparation window which should allow the winning bidders to quickly begin the permitting process and put steel in the water by the end of the decade. Gains here today will go a long way to achieve the Biden Administration’s goal of 30 GW by 2030 and will play a critical role in the formation of a domestic supply chain. We look forward to the administration conducting planned auctions in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico over the next few years, which will build off of this week’s momentum.
Today’s lease auction follows a tremendous year that saw $2.2 billion in new offshore wind investments, announcements for nine new manufacturing facilities, and dramatic growth in the domestic supply chain. It is good to see offshore wind in demand right now, however, we must continue building a sustainable industry through investments in supply chain port infrastructure, ship building and transmission systems, and ensuring our systems are aligned towards that goal. The lease sale notably included provisions directly encouraging supply chain investment for the first time, demonstrating that the federal government understands how important localizing a supply chain is to the long-term success of the industry and the country’s energy security.”
For more information or to arrange an interview with the Network, contact Melinda Skea at melinda@offshorewindus.org or 202-709-9793.
