President Joe Biden's administration is set to initiate an auction on Tuesday for offshore wind development rights covering eight areas off the coasts of northern New England. This auction represents a critical test of the industry's willingness to invest following a year marked by significant setbacks.
The auction, which encompasses nearly 1 million acres (404,680 hectares) in the Gulf of Maine, will be the last before Biden, a Democrat, exits office in January. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for the upcoming presidential election, has pledged to halt offshore wind projects if he defeats Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris on November 5.
Biden has prioritized offshore wind as a fundamental component of his strategy to decarbonize the electricity grid by 2035. However, the sector has faced rising costs, supply chain disruptions, and a construction accident, all of which have hindered progress and raised questions about the administration's goal of installing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by the end of the decade.
The Gulf of Maine's available leasing areas, situated off the coasts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, hold the potential to generate enough offshore wind energy to power more than 4.5 million homes, according to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
The Northeast U.S. is viewed as a promising market for offshore wind developers, as many states have enacted laws mandating the procurement of renewable resources to combat climate change. For example, Maine aims to install 3 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2040, while Massachusetts leads with a target of 5.6 gigawatts by 2027.
Despite this potential, the industry has recently struggled, leading to the cancellation of two offshore wind auctions earlier this year in the Gulf of Mexico and Oregon—regions that lack specific offshore wind mandates.
Development in the Gulf of Maine could significantly advance the use of floating wind turbines, an emerging technology essential for operating in the region's deep waters. By 2035, the U.S. plans to establish 15 gigawatts of floating wind capacity along its coastlines, including California, Oregon, and Maine. A small project aimed at demonstrating this technology is currently in development off the coast of Maine.
A range of companies, including Avangrid, Equinor, TotalEnergies, Repsol, and Invenergy, are among the 14 developers qualified to participate in the auction, as noted in a BOEM sale announcement. The auction will commence online at 9:00 local time (1300 GMT), with updates available on the BOEM's official website.
