BOEM | California Floating Wind leasing round winners, $750m raised  

Lease zones spread across two separate wind energy areas (WEA) off Morro Bay in central California and Humboldt County in the north are under auction.

The WEAs cover some 373,000 acres of Pacific deepwater -suitable for Floating Wind - and a resource expected by the Bureau of Ocean Energy (BOEM), the lead regulator of energy development in federal waters, to generate enough clean power for 1.6 million homes.

Equinor said its successful bid in the Morro Bay area in the southern California lease area had potential for circa 2 GW of offshore wind. RWE said the site it secured in Humboldt Bay off the north coast of California could host up to 1.6 GW of capacity. Ocean Winds said the lease it secured with CPP Investments can accommodate approximately 2 GW of offshore wind. Invenergy said its successful bid is expected to support up to 1.5 GW of capacity. The area won by California North Floating is expected to support approximately 838 MW

The average of $2k/acre is actually down on New York Bight’s ground-breaking $9k/acre for fixed-foundation sites some of the difference may involve offtake revenue and not far below the $2.9k/acre paid in May’s Carolina Long Bay lease auction for fixed-foundation sites

“The Biden-Harris administration believes that to address the climate crisis head on, we must unleash a new era of clean, reliable energy that serves every household in America. Today’s lease sale is further proof that industry momentum – including for floating offshore wind development – is undeniable,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “A sustainable, clean energy future is within our grasp and the Interior Department is doing everything we can to ensure that American communities nationwide benefit.”

The interest and success of today’s sale represents a significant milestone toward achieving President Biden’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind capacity by 2035.

“The innovative bidding credits in the California auction will result in tangible investments for the floating offshore wind workforce and supply chain in the United States, and benefits to Tribes, communities, and ocean users potentially affected by future offshore wind activities. This auction commits substantial investment to support economic growth from floating offshore wind energy development – including the jobs that come with it,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton. “These credits and additional lease stipulations demonstrate BOEM’s commitment to responsibly grow the offshore wind industry to achieve our offshore wind goals.”