Avangrid Renewables and Invenergy NE Offshore Wind have submitted the winning bids for America’s first commercial floating offshore wind lease sale of areas to be located in the Gulf of Maine.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) completed the offshore wind lease sale on October 29, 2024, in which it offered the first commercial sale for floating offshore wind on the Atlantic Coast. The sale resulted in the two provisional winners each securing two of the four lease areas. The sale generated $21.9 million in winning bids.
- Avangrid Renewables, LLC won Lease OCS-564 at $4,928,250, which consists of 98,565 acres and Lease OCS-568 at $6,244,850, which consists of 124,897 acres. Both lease areas are approximately 29.5 nautical miles (nm) from Massachusetts.
- Invenergy NE Offshore Wind, LLC won Lease OCS-562 at $4,892,700, which consists of 97,854 acres and is approximately 46.2 nm from Maine and Lease OCS-567 at $5,889,000 which consists of 117,780 acres is approximately 21.6 nautical miles (nm) from Massachusetts.
The combined lease areas amount to over 400,000 acres and are estimated to generate 6.8 GW, enough to power 2.3 million U.S. homes and businesses.
While the leases awarded do not authorize the construction or operation of any offshore wind facilities, they provide the right to submit a project plan for BOEM’s review. BOEM will then develop an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the specific impacts of any project proposals before making decisions on whether to approve a proposed construction and operations plan.
“Avangrid is proud to secure two lease areas in today’s auction with the potential to deliver 3 Gigawatts of clean energy to the New England region, which affirms our position as a national leader in the United States’ offshore wind industry and builds on the Iberdrola Group’s global floating wind portfolio,”said Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra. “Securing these lease areas provides a unique opportunity to advance our growing business at a significant value, and reinforces our unwavering commitment to helping the New England region meet its growing need for reliable, clean energy.”
Avangrid’s lease areas OCS-A 0564 and OCS-A 0568 offer strong wind speeds; relatively shallow waters within the limits of existing floating wind technology; access to multiple interconnection points; and are largely deconflicted from other ocean users following a rigorous federal public engagement process.
In August 2024, ISO New England issued a draft report, Economic Planning for the Clean Energy Transition, which found that in order to meet its energy needs and state climate targets, the New England region will need approximately 34 Gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2050. To reach this goal, a sizable percentage of new offshore wind in New England will need to utilize floating wind technology.
Not including the lease area secured with its winning Maine bid, Avangrid has a projected offshore wind pipeline of over 5 GW on the East Coast of the United States – enough to power more than two million households.
In addition to the Vineyard Wind 1 project (800 Megawatts (MW), of which Avangrid is a 50% owner, Avangrid owns 100% of New England Wind 1 (791 MW), New England Wind 2 (1,079 MW), and Kitty Hawk Wind South (2400 MW off the coast of Virginia and North Carolina). With today’s result, Avangrid has the largest offshore development portfolio in the Northeast region by total acreage.
In addition to its substantial experience developing projects in the U.S. market, including the Vineyard Wind 1 project, Avangrid is positioned to leverage the global expertise of parent company Iberdrola, which is pioneering floating offshore wind in Europe and secured the rights to develop 5 GW of floating wind as part of the ScotWind auction in January 2022.
As one of the largest renewable energy developers in the nation, Avangrid has a 9 GW portfolio of more than 75 wind and solar facilities in 25 states, generating enough energy to power over 2.8 million homes across the country.
In September 2024, Avangrid’s 791 Megawatts (MW) New England Wind 1 project was selected by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the multi-state regional offshore wind solicitation. New England Wind 1 is an offshore wind development located in federal lease area OCS-A-0534, roughly 30 miles south of Barnstable, Massachusetts and making landfall under the Craigville Beach parking lot in Barnstable. The project will border Vineyard Wind 1, Avangrid’s first large-scale offshore wind project currently under construction 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.
“(This) successful auction demonstrates that offshore wind will continue to play a leading role in the Northeast’s energy future. These lease areas will deliver well-paying, local jobs, and drive significant investment in manufacturing facilities, ports, and transmission development,” Oceantic Network CEO Liz Burdock noted. “With ample acreage for new projects and a state research lease, BOEM is helping to position Maine as a hub of innovation that will fuel the development of floating offshore wind technology in the U.S. and globally. We look forward to continuing work with BOEM, the State of Maine, and interested stakeholders to pursue responsible offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine.”
Development in the Gulf of Maine also presents opportunities for international collaboration with Canadian provinces. In September, U.S. Northeast governors and Eastern Canadian provincial leaders discussed opportunities for collaboration between the two regions at the 45th annual New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG-ECP) meeting. In October, Oceantic Network hosted its first annual New England & Atlantic Canada OSW Forum to further discuss these collaborative opportunities, including transmission planning and port development.
In waters too deep for traditional fixed-bottom wind turbines, the areas require the utilization of floating offshore wind technology. Lessees also agreed to stipulations designed to promote the floating offshore wind supply chain, transmission planning, and well-paying union jobs.
BOEM’s announcement followed the issuance of an offshore wind research lease to the state of Maine in August. This lease enables the state—in collaboration with the fishing community, wildlife experts, and industry leaders—to construct a 144 MW pilot project and conduct studies that will inform future floating offshore wind development in the region and beyond.
To learn more about floating offshore wind from Avangrid’s parent company Iberdrola, click HERE.
