U.S. Interior Begins Process for Offshore Wind Development in the Gulf of Maine

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Aug. 18 announced a request for interest aimed to determine public interest in the expansion of commercial offshore wind leases on nearly 13.7 million acres in the Gulf of Maine. The bureau also published a separate request for competitive interest in response to Maine’s research lease application to establish if competitive interest exists for the area of research. The application sought over 9,700 acres on the outer continental shelf, about 20 nautical miles off the coast of Maine. Assuming the research zone is developed, it will include up to 12 floating offshore wind turbines and generate up to 144 megawatts of clean renewable energy.

The bureau seeks feedback from industry, stakeholders, ocean users, tribes, and others concerning the future offshore wind energy lease sale. The gathered information is expected to assist the bureau to narrow down the area that will be considered for the offshore wind development as well as the leasing process. In the absence of a competitive lease interest, the bureau will proceed with the research application. The agency may decide to move forward with the lease issuance process if one or more competitive interests are submitted by qualified entities.

Offshore wind energy plays a key role in President Biden’s strategy to combat climate change and transition to renewable energy. The U.S. administration has a goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. Further, the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act is expected to make clean energy more affordable and accessible to households by lowering their energy costs. The legislation withdraws the Trump-era ban on offshore wind leasing on the outer continental shelf off the Southeast U.S. coast. The act offers long-term extensions of critical tax incentives and supports the construction of high-voltage transmission lines. The legislation includes new production tax credits for domestic manufacturing and the supply of wind components and equipment. The agency expects the legislation to accelerate the deployment and manufacture of more than 120,000 wind turbines.

The U.S. Interior Department also intends to conduct up to five additional offshore lease sales and finalize the review process of at least 16 commercial offshore wind energy plans by 2025. This would result in the development of over 22 gigawatts of clean energy.

The publication of these federal register notices initiates two separate 45-day comment periods that will conclude on Oct. 3, 2022.