[co-author: Joshua Sturtevant*]
On October 29, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held an auction for offshore wind areas in the Gulf of Maine. Although BOEM leased an offshore wind area in the Gulf of Maine for a research installation last August, the October auction was the first commercial offshore wind lease sale in the region. Of eight available areas, four were bid on and awarded. The areas in the Gulf of Maine are expected to require floating technology, a first for the east coast.
BOEM estimates that “the leased areas have the potential to power more than 2.3 million homes with clean energy.” The lease rights were sold for nearly $22 million at a per acre price of $50, a decline from August’s Central Atlantic Auction where areas sold for $739.34 per acre and $100 per acre, respectively. As such, the Gulf of Maine Auction continues a downward trend in per acre pricing that began in 2022.
While there is some uncertainty in the space following the recent presidential election, BOEM is currently preparing for a second auction in the Central Atlantic. However, BOEM has decided to postpone its Oregon Offshore Wind Auction, after receiving bidding interest from just one of the five companies that were qualified to place a bid. Depending on future interest, BOEM may decide to hold the auction or issue a noncompetitive lease to the interested party. Stay tuned for more updates on the offshore wind space, including our analysis on the potential impacts of the recent federal elections in the U.S.
*Joshua Sturtevant is a law clerk in the firm’s New York office.
