The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will hold an auction on 13 December to lease 158,000 hectares off the coast of Massachusetts for offshore wind development.
Nineteen companies have qualified to participate in the auction for the Massachusetts Wind Energy Area.
US secretary of the interior Ryan Zinke said: “If fully developed, the wind auction could support approximately 4.1GW of power to supply nearly 1.5 million homes. This is just one example of the importance of fostering wind energy as a new American industry.”
BOEM is providing information about the auction along with a map of the Massachusetts lease areas on its website.
In addition, the agency will publish a Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for the construction and operations plan for the 90MW South Fork wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island.
If approved, the plan, slated for publication on 19 October on the Federal Register, would allow construction and operation of up to 15 turbines that connect via a transmission cable to a grid in East Hampton, New York.
The project is some 30km south-east of Block Island. The notice will have a 30-day public comment period.
Meanwhile, in preparation for the first west coast offshore wind auction in the US, BOEM will publish a Call for Information and Nominations on 19 October on the Federal Register to identify companies interested in commercial wind energy leases within three proposed areas off central and northern California.
The call will have a 100-day public comment period.