The Department of the Interior announced Monday that it will auction off wind leases for eight areas on the outer continental shelf of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
The department said the first auction of sites in the Gulf of Maine will take place on Oct 29. Officials said that the sites could produce as much as 13 gigawatts of energy – enough to power 4.5 million homes.
“Today’s announcement – which builds on the execution of the nation’s first floating offshore wind energy research lease in Maine last month – is the result of years of thoughtful coordination between our team, the Gulf of Maine states, industry and the Tribes and ocean users who share our interest in the health and longevity of our ocean,” Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.
The region offered for sale is roughly 120,000 acres smaller than an area initially proposed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in April, the department said. The bureau aimed to avoid offshore fishing zones, vulnerable habitats and transportation routes, officials said.
Elizabeth Klein, director of the bureau, said the auction “reflects our all-of-government approach for reaching the Biden-Harris Administration’s energy goals while combatting the climate crisis.”
Federal officials first offered Maine the chance to research offshore wind turbines earlier this year, selecting a site southeast of Portland, 28 nautical miles from shore.
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