The US Department of the Interior (DOI) announced this week that it held the first auction of offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Mexico region.
This lease sale offered two areas off the coast of Galveston, Texas, with one area consisting of 102,480 acres and the other 96,786 acres, and a third area of 102,480 acres off the coast of Lake Charles, Louisiana, was highlight a statement published on the DOI website.
RWE Offshore US Gulf LLC was the winner of the Lake Charles lease area with a high bid of $5.6 million, the DOI noted in its statement. The area has the potential to generate approximately 1.24 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity and power nearly 435,400 homes with renewable energy, according to the DOI statement, which notes that the two proposed Galveston lease areas are not receive offers
In its statement, the DOI noted that RWE Offshore US Gulf received bid credits that will result in more than $860,000 in investments for workforce training and a domestic supply chain, and more than $430,000 for the compensatory mitigation of fishing.
According to the DOI statement, the GOM auction furthers President Biden’s Investment in America agenda and advances Biden’s commitment to deploy 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030.
The DOI noted in its statement that it has approved the country’s first four commercial-scale offshore wind projects, held four offshore wind lease auctions, initiated the environmental review of 10 offshore wind projects and advanced the process to explore additional wind energy areas in Oregon, Gulf. of Maine and the Central Atlantic. The DOI noted that it has also taken steps to evolve its approach to offshore wind to drive joint-built projects and a national supply chain.
“The Biden-Harris administration is making once-in-a-generation investments in America’s infrastructure and our clean energy future as we take steps to bring offshore wind power to additional areas of the country,” said the US Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, in a DOI statement. .
“[This] The lease sale represents an important milestone for the Gulf of Mexico region and for our nation in transitioning to a clean energy future,” said Elizabeth Klein, director of the Office of Management Ocean Energy (BOEM).
“The Lake Charles lease area will have the potential to generate enough electricity to power approximately 435,400 homes and create hundreds of jobs,” Klein added.
In a statement sent to Rigzone following the conclusion of the GOM offshore wind lease sale, National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) President Erik Milito said: “[this] The lease sale is a key moment in the continued growth of the Gulf of Mexico as a comprehensive and integrated energy center”.
“The Gulf is firmly established as the world’s premier offshore energy region, renowned for its low-carbon oil production and… [this week] the region took a step to expand its energy portfolio”, he added.
In the statement, Milito noted that NOIA members have played a fundamental role in advancing both offshore oil and gas projects and offshore wind companies.
“Throughout the Gulf Coast region, you’ll find steel fabricators, offshore service vessels, heavy-lift vessel operators, subsea construction companies, helicopter service providers and more who have built their expertise in the oil and gas industry, but they will be vital to build offshore wind. ,” He said.
“A generation of marine, oil and gas services companies from Louisiana, Texas and other Gulf Coast areas have already begun to apply their skills and expertise to foster a new American renewable energy industry in offshore wind,” he added.
“They can expand their skills and experience by participating in the construction and development of a wind project in their own backyard,” he continued.
“As the Gulf of Mexico continues its evolution toward an integrated, broad-based energy hub, encompassing segments such as oil and gas, wind, and with future prospects for carbon and hydrogen sequestration, the opportunity for the first offshore wind project will be a marker for the region”, said Milito.
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