The US Department of Interior has proposed leasing sites in the New York Bight – a stretch of water between New York and New Jersey – capable of supporting 7GW of offshore wind capacity.
It plans to lease eight areas in the shallow waters between Long Island and New Jersey, according to a in the government’s Federal Register issued on Friday (11 June).
Some sites earmarked for potential development are not being considered at this time due to conflicts with maritime traffic, protected species, commercial fisheries and commercial viability, according to the notice.
The government has not announced a timeline for announcing and then holding a potential auction.
Avangrid Renewables, EnBW (under the name East Wind), EDF Renewables, Equinor, Horizon Wind, North River Wind, RWE Renewables, PNE, US Mainstream Renewable Power, US Wind and Invenergy have all been pre-qualified to participate in the upcoming sale.
If it goes ahead, this would be the first competitive offshore wind lease sale from the Biden-Harris administration.
New York aims to have 9GW of operational offshore wind capacity by 2035, while New Jersey aims to have 7.5GW of offshore wind capacity by the same date. The US is targeting to have 30GW of operational offshore wind capacity online by 2030.
Laura Morton, senior director of policy and regulatory affairs for offshore wind at the American Clean Power Association, said: “This announcement further demonstrates the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to develop 30GW of offshore wind by 2030 and goes hand in hand with the concerted efforts by the states surrounding the New York Bight to become leaders in capturing the economic and environmental benefits of this growing resource.”
In recent months, the Biden administration has approved construction and operation of the US’s first utility-scale wind farm, the 806MW Vineyard Wind 1 project, agreed to advance areas for offshore wind off northern and central California, began to assess the potential for offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico and started the review process for the 704MW Revolution Wind and 1148MW Ocean Wind 2 projects.
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