The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) sale of offshore wind development rights resumed on Thursday, with bids totaling above $1.9 billion.
The auction of six areas off the New York and New Jersey coasts breaks the record for the largest U.S. sale of offshore wind rights, according to Reuters. This is the Biden administration's first sale of this nature, keeping with his plans to help alleviate the effects of climate change.
The six leases apply to 461,326 developable acres of the New York Bight, which includes areas between Long Island and New Jersey, BOEM's website says. Combined, these lease areas have the potential to power nearly 2 million homes.
Four of the six lease areas have over 70,000 developable acres, each being able to power more than 300,000 homes. The sixth area is the smallest, with just over 43,000 developable acres and the capacity to power over 182,000 homes. The third is the largest, with more than 114,000 developable acres, potentially powering over 485,000 homes, the website added.
As of 12:10 p.m. EST on Thursday, bids for the largest lease area had reached $540 million, with the other five areas ranging from $100 million to $385 million.
Navingo's Offshore Wind news site reported that BOEM approved 25 companies to bid for the lease areas. The bidders include gas companies like Shell and BP—both individually and through joint ventures—as well as renewable energy companies like SSE Renewables.
BOEM describes offshore wind as "an abundant domestic energy resource." Wind turbines work by connecting the turbine blades to a generator—either directly or using a shaft or gears—which creates electricity when wind spins the turbine blades, according to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
Developers especially value offshore winds because they blow "harder and more uniformly than on land," according to BOEM. The higher wind speeds yield more electricity.
In December 2021, BOEM reported it had done an environmental assessment to investigate the potential consequences of offshore wind energy development in the area and found there would be no significant impact.
"The completion of this Environmental Assessment is an important step forward in advancing the Biden-Harris administration's goal of increasing renewable energy development on federal lands and waters," BOEM Director Amanda Lefton said in a statement. "BOEM is focused on ensuring that any development in the New York Bight is done responsibly and in a way that avoids or minimizes impacts to the ocean and other ocean users in the region."
In April 2021, President Joe Biden announced a goal for the U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas pollution to 50-52 percent of 2005 levels by 2030. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, wind turbines can help reduce air pollution by replacing energy production from fossil fuels.
Update 02/24/22 4:05 p.m. ET: This story was updated to add more information.
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