Five developers have been named as provisional winners after pledging to spend over $750m on five wind lease areas in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM’s) California offshore lease sale.
RWE Offshore Wind Holdings spent $157.7m to secure OCS-P 0561, a 63,338-acre site that has been rated with an estimated 769MW.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, through its subsidiary California North Floating, won the 69,031-acre, 838MW OCS-P 0562 with a $173.8m bid.
Equinor Wind US was named winner for OCS-P 0563, which covers 80,062 acres and is rated at 972MW, bidding $130m.
Ocean Winds’ subsidiary Central California Offshore Wind was granted the 80,418-acre 976MW OCS-P 0564 with a $150.3m bid
And finally, Invenergy California Offshore spent $145.3m on OCS-P 0565, also covering 80,418 acres and with a 976MW rating.
The lease areas are located offered off central and northern California in the Humboldt and Morro Bay wind energy areas. The leased areas have the potential to produce over 4.6GW offshore wind energy, enough to power over 1.5 million homes.
“The Biden-Harris administration believes that to address the climate crisis head on, we must unleash a new era of clean, reliable energy that serves every household in America. Today’s lease sale is further proof that industry momentum – including for floating offshore wind development – is undeniable,” said Secretary Deb Haaland.
“A sustainable, clean energy future is within our grasp and the Interior Department is doing everything we can to ensure that American communities nationwide benefit.”
BOEM Director Amanda Lefton added: “The innovative bidding credits in the California auction will result in tangible investments for the floating offshore wind workforce and supply chain in the United States, and benefits to Tribes, communities, and ocean users potentially affected by future offshore wind activities.
“This auction commits substantial investment to support economic growth from floating offshore wind energy development – including the jobs that come with it. These credits and additional lease stipulations demonstrate BOEM’s commitment to responsibly grow the offshore wind industry to achieve our offshore wind goals.”