On October 18, 2022, the Department of the Interior announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold its first offshore wind energy lease sale on the west coast.[1] The lease sale will take place on December 6, 2022, for areas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) off central and northern California. It will be the first U.S. sale to support potential commercial-scale floating offshore wind energy development. The press release states that the sale will be critical for achieving the Biden administration’s goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 15 GW of floating offshore wind by 2035. To date, BOEM has held ten competitive lease sales and issued 27 active commercial wind leases in the Atlantic Ocean.

BOEM will offer five OCS lease areas, which total approximately 373,268 acres and have the potential to produce over 4.5 GW of offshore wind energy. The sale will include three lease areas off central California and two lease areas off northern California. It also includes several lease stipulations designed to promote the development of a robust domestic supply chain, advance flexibility in transmission planning, and create good-paying union jobs. Stipulations include bidding credits for bidders who enter into community benefit agreements or invest in workforce training or supply chain development, requirements for winning bidders to make efforts to enter into project labor agreements, and requirements for engagement with tribes, underserved communities, ocean users, and agencies.

[1] https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-first-ever-offshore-wind-lease-sale-pacific