The proposed lease areas are estimated to have the potential to host over 7GW of offshore wind capacity
Eight lease areas in the New York Bight will be included in the proposed sale. (Credit: Steppinstars from Pixabay)
The Biden administration has opened up the outer continental shelf (OCS) in the New York Bight for offshore wind development in line with its ambition to install 30GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.
New York Bight is an area of shallow waters located between Long Island in New York and the New Jersey coast.
According to the US Department of the Interior (DOI), the proposed lease areas can potentially host more than 7GW of offshore wind capacity, which is equivalent to meeting the electricity needs of more than 2.6 million households.
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said: “Climate change poses an existential threat — not just to our environment, but to our health, our communities, and our economic well-being. The Biden-Harris administration recognises the urgency of this moment, and the development of renewable energy resources is an important piece of addressing this reality.
“Today’s announcement of new proposed lease stipulations puts a priority on creating and sustaining good-paying union jobs as we build a clean energy economy.”
Eight lease areas in the New York Bight will be included in the proposed sale notice of the US government for facilitating commercial wind energy development.
So far, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), on the behalf of the government, had conducted eight competitive lease sales. It has also issued 17 active commercial offshore wind leases on the Atlantic, spanning from Massachusetts to North Carolina.
In May 2021, the Biden administration had approved the construction and operation of the 800MW Vineyard Wind1 project, which is the country’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project.
Last month, an agreement was signed by the Departments of the Interior, Defense and the State of California to speed up development of wind energy offshore the central and northern coasts of California.
Earlier this month, the Department of the Interior disclosed plans to evaluate potential opportunities to advance development of offshore wind energy on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
Recently, the Biden administration has also initiated the review process for the Revolution Wind offshore project in Rhode Island and the Ocean Wind project offshore New Jersey.