To expand the nascent clean energy industry in the US to a major hub for oil and gas production, the government is proposing its first sale of offshore wind power development rights in the Gulf of Mexico as part of the effort by President Joe Biden’s administration to install wind turbines along every U.S. coastline as it seeks to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by the end of the decade.
A proposed sale notice for a 102,480 acre area off of Lake Charles, Louisiana and two areas near Galveston, Texas of 102,480 and 76,786 acres has been released by the Interior Department which said together, the proposed offshore sites could power nearly 1.3 million homes.
“There is no time to waste in making bold investments to address the climate crisis, and building a strong domestic offshore wind industry is key to meeting that challenge head on,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.
Government studies have found the Gulf of Mexico’s shallow waters and proximity to oil and gas infrastructure make it promising for expansion of a new offshore industry and several Louisiana companies involved in offshore drilling were tapped to help build the nation’s first offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island.
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According to the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), a trade group for offshore energy businesses, offshore wind would complement the Gulf of Mexico’s existing oil and gas industry.
“The energy, jobs and investment opportunities from Gulf of Mexico offshore wind will be additive to the incredible benefits the offshore oil and gas sector provides our nation,” NOIA President Erik Milito said in a statement.
After the department publishes the proposal this month, the public will have 60 days to comment. If the department decides to move ahead, it will publish a final notice at least 30 days ahead of the sale, and release the date of the sale and companies qualified to participate.
The Biden administration has held three offshore wind lease auctions, including the largest ever such U.S. sale last year for areas off the New York and New Jersey coasts that attracted a record $1.5 billion in bids, and the first ever off the Pacific coast in California.
Story was adapted from Reuters.
