The US Department of Interior is to hold an offshore wind lease auction for five wind energy areas off California’s coast in early December.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released the final sale notice for five lease areas in the Morro Bay (central California) and Humboldt (northern California) call areas with a potential to produce at least 4.5GW of renewable energy.
The California Final Sale Notice (FSN), which will publish in the Federal Register later this week, provides detailed information about the final lease areas, lease provisions and conditions, and auction details.
It also identifies qualified companies who can participate in the lease auction.
The lease auction also includes specific provisions designed to stimulate supply chain development for floating offshore wind turbines.
“The demand and momentum to build a clean energy future is undeniable.
“I am proud of the teams at the Interior Department that are moving forward at the pace and scale required to help achieve the President’s goals to make offshore wind energy, including floating offshore wind energy, a reality for the United States,” said Secretary Deb Haaland.
“Today, we are taking another step toward unlocking the immense offshore wind energy potential off our nation’s west coast to help combat the effects of climate change while lowering costs for American families and creating good-paying union jobs.”
In May 2021, Haaland and California Governor Gavin Newsom joined Biden-Harris administration leaders to announce an agreement to advance areas for wind energy development offshore the northern and central coasts of California.
The California sale reflects the leasing path announced last year by Haaland and last month’s announcement of a new deployment goal of 15GW of floating offshore wind energy by 2035.
Liz Burdock, President and CEO of the Business Network for Offshore Wind, said: “The future of offshore wind is floating, and today’s lease auction announcement is another exciting step to advancing the US as a premier market for this cutting-edge industry, which will bring a reliable renewable resource to California’s power sector.
“Bolstered both by California’s long-term goals and the federal government’s Earth Shot initiative, the West Coast market will singularly rival those on the global stage and could draw billions in US supply chain investments.
“However, the US must move with urgency to capture this rare economic opportunity by freeing up critical support for port and transmission investments and do the hard work to identify and build an American supply chain that will anchor the US as a global industry leader.”