Biden Administration Announces Inaugural Wind Lease Sale Offshore Oregon

The U.S. Interior Department on Aug. 29 announced that it will hold an offshore wind energy lease sale off southern Oregon. The auction, scheduled for Oct. 15, includes two areas that have the potential to generate over 3.1 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy and supply about one million homes.

The announcement follows a series of announcements to expand offshore wind energy opportunities. The department has approved nine commercial scale offshore wind projects, with a total of 13 GW of capacity, since the start of the Biden administration. Five offshore wind lease auctions have been held including a lease sale off the Pacific Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. The department recently announced a schedule to hold up to 12 additional lease sales through 2028. The Biden administration has set a goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and 15 GW of floating offshore wind energy capacity by 2035.

The department has undertaken initiatives to develop a sustainable offshore wind industry by incentivizing the utilization of project labor agreements, strengthening labor force training and supporting a domestic supply chain.

The sale notice incorporates a number of lease stipulations intended to encourage the development of a strong domestic U.S. supply chain for floating offshore wind, enhance flexibility in transmission planning, and create well paying union jobs. Stipulations include bidding credits for bidders who execute community benefit agreements or make investments in workforce training or supply chain development.

The U.S. offshore wind industry continues to make progress, with California planning to procure 7.6 GW of capacity by 2037. The industry also faces a number of hurdles, including the Vineyard Wind Project off Massachusetts is under investigation due to a turbine blade failure and a Gulf of Mexico lease auction has been cancelled due to a lack of interest.