BOEM Receives Unsolicited Lease Request for Gulf of Mexico Offshore Wind Area

The Bureau of Ocean Power Administration (BOEM) introduced as we speak that it has acquired an unsolicited lease request from Hecate Power for industrial offshore wind vitality leases on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) within the Gulf of Mexico.

BOEM is now searching for data on whether or not aggressive curiosity exists within the areas included in Hecate Power’s request. These areas, positioned off the coast of southeast Texas, had been beforehand recognized by BOEM as potential Wind Power Areas (WEAs) appropriate for offshore wind leasing in 2021. WEA Choice C totals 74,113 acres, and WEA Choice D totals 68,239 acres, for a mixed complete of 142,352 acres.

As required by the OCS Lands Act, BOEM is issuing a Request for Aggressive Curiosity (RFCI) to assemble feedback and enter on whether or not there’s aggressive curiosity in these areas. BOEM could use the feedback to additional refine the areas into account and inform future environmental analyses associated to the potential lease space.

If BOEM receives indications of curiosity from different certified entities, it might proceed with a aggressive lease sale. If not, BOEM could transfer ahead with a noncompetitive lease issuance to Hecate Power. The areas in Hecate Power’s request differ from these in BOEM’s Proposed Sale Discover (PSN) for a second Gulf of Mexico offshore wind lease sale, revealed on March 21, 2024. This second sale was canceled on account of a scarcity of aggressive curiosity, regardless of preliminary curiosity from one firm.

“The Gulf area advantages from nice offshore wind assets and present vitality infrastructure,” mentioned Gulf of Mexico Regional Director Dr. James Kendall. “The curiosity from trade leaders similar to Hecate and RWE demonstrates the industrial potential within the area. As we proceed to discover these alternatives, we’ll be certain that any potential growth is completed in a method that avoids, reduces, or mitigates potential impacts to ocean customers and the atmosphere.”

Hope for Offshore Wind Growth in Gulf of Mexico Fades With Low Bids

The primary offshore wind lease sale within the Gulf of Mexico in August 2023, happening throughout a difficult interval for the trade marked by rising prices and provide chain points, raised simply $5.6 million for a 100,000-acre space off Louisiana’s coast, however noticed no bids for 2 areas off Texas. The disappointing end result contrasted sharply with the record-breaking offshore wind lease sale off New York and New Jersey in February 2022, which attracted $4.3 billion in profitable bids. Different profitable gross sales befell off the Carolinas and California coasts, with excessive bids totaling $315 million and $757 million, respectively.

For the reason that starting of the Biden-Harris administration, the Division of the Inside has permitted the nation’s first 9 commercial-scale offshore wind tasks with a mixed capability of greater than 13 gigawatts — sufficient to energy almost 5 million properties. The Division has held 4 offshore wind lease auctions since January 2021, together with a record-breaking sale offshore New York and the first-ever gross sales offshore the Pacific Coast and within the Gulf of Mexico. The Division additionally not too long ago introduced a schedule of as much as 12 extra lease gross sales by 2028.