The Biden administration will hold a first-ever offshore wind sale off the coast of Oregon this autumn, despite requests for more time from state leaders concerned about the impact of novel floating wind technology on the ocean ecosystem and fisheries.
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will offer two lease areas for bid in the Oct. 15 sale. One area includes 61,203 acres and is located 32 miles from the coast at Coos Bay. The second lease area is 18 miles off the coast of Brookings and includes 133,792 acres.
The combined leases could support more than 3 gigawatts of wind energy, enough to power 1 million homes.
The sale will be one of the last under President Joe Biden, whose climate agenda includes efforts to boost emerging technology, including floating offshore wind turbines in waters too deep for traditional foundations.
