U.S. Interior Issues First Floating Offshore Wind Research Lease

The U.S. Interior Department on Aug. 19 announced the implementation of the first U.S. floating offshore wind energy research lease located close to Maine in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. The lease area covers around 15,000 acres and has the potential to support the generation of up to 144 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy.

The approval of the research lease allows the state of Maine and other stakeholders to oversee and undertake in depth analysis and studies to evaluate floating offshore wind as a renewable energy source in the state. Data and analysis assembled from the research will provide vital knowledge to make commercial floating offshore wind development decisions in the future and allow the BOEM and the state of Maine to take advantage of innovative technologies.

The state will recommend and conduct research concerning environmental and engineering aspects of the planned project. The information offered will be made public and utilized to advise future planning, authorization, and construction of commercial scale floating offshore wind projects in the state.

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 approved nine commercial scale offshore wind projects, with a total of 13 GW of clean energy, 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 conduct up to 12 additional lease sales through 2028.

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.