REM: $315mn in winning bids announced for US offshore wind lease

TotalEnergies Renewables USA and Duke Energy Renewables Wind won a US government lease auction off the Carolinas with winning bids totalling $315mn. The tracts have a capacity of 1.3 GW.

Offshore wind lease sales in the US have not previously required such an investment.

The news is important because President Joe Biden has a goal of 3 GW of offshore wind installations off the US by 2030. 

“The Biden-Harris administration is moving forward at the pace and scale required to help achieve the President’s goals to make offshore wind energy a reality for the United States,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. “[The] lease sale is further proof that there is strong industry interest and that America’s clean energy transition is here.”

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) lease sale offered two lease areas covering 110,091 acres (44,552 hectares) in the Carolina Long Bay area offshore North Carolina and South Carolina, in the south-eastern US.

The winning bids will include an investment of $42 mn investment in domestic supply chain and workforce training, the equivalent of a new 20% credit for bidders.