The U.S. government announced Tuesday that it will offer for sale in December leases for the first offshore wind projects off the U.S. West Coast.
These projects are expected to help meet Gov. Joe Bien’s goal of producing 30 gigawatts (GW) of wind power by 2030.
Two areas, off the coast of northern and central California, are affected. These will be floating offshore wind turbines, which can be installed in deep waters.
These sites could potentially produce 4.5 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 1.5 million homes, while generating “thousands of new jobs,” according to a statement from the Interior Ministry.
“The demand and momentum for building a clean energy future is undeniable,” Minister Deb Haaland said in the statement. “Today we are taking another step to unlock the immense potential for offshore wind energy off the U.S. West Coast to help combat the effects of climate change, while lowering costs for American families,” she added. The sale will take place on December 6, and involves five sites totaling approximately 150,000 hectares. The U.S. administration considers that two-thirds of the offshore wind energy potential in the United States lies in deep waters, including off the state of Oregon in the Pacific Ocean, or Maine in the Atlantic.
In September, the Biden administration announced that it wanted to deploy enough floating offshore wind turbines to produce 15 gigawatts by 2035. He would also like to reduce the production cost of these floating wind turbines by 70% by the same date.
This support for wind power is in stark contrast to the positions of former President Donald Trump, who repeatedly ridiculed this renewable energy during his tenure.
