Interior Department announces first offshore California wind lease sale

The Biden administration on Thursday announced the first proposed wind power lease sales offshore in California, the latest in a series of sales as the administration seeks to build out renewable energy infrastructure. 

The lease sales, which are also the first off the U.S. west coast, will take place in five proposed lease areas.

Two of the areas are off the coast of northern California in the Humboldt Wind Energy Area, while the remaining three are off of central California in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area. The proposed leases total about 373,268 acres and would install more than 4.5 gigawatts of offshore energy capacity, according to the Interior Department.  

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has already held 10 lease sales and issued 25 offshore wind leases in an area of the Atlantic stretching from North Carolina to New England. The proposed lease sale notice for the West Coast will last for 60 days beginning May 31. 

The Business Network for Offshore Wind hailed the announcement in a statement Thursday. 

“Floating markets are advancing quickly in Asia and Europe creating a race to develop our own capabilities and position the U.S. as a global leader in this cutting-edge market,” CEO Liz Burdock said in a statement.

“The Business Network congratulates President Biden’s and Governor [Gavin] Newsom’s [D] administrations for this historic moment bringing offshore wind to the world’s fifth largest economy and taking necessary steps to set up a robust supply chain of domestic businesses that will elevate America as a frontrunner to an in-demand technology.” 

The Biden administration has set a goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030, spanning the east and west coasts. Earlier this month, California announced a goal of about 3 GW of offshore wind by 2030, enough to power about 3 million homes in the Golden State, with another 7-12 GW by 2045.