Embracing the Winds of Change

A new breeze in the Gulf of Mexico offshore energy mix

A new breeze is blowing through the Gulf of Mexico.?

But initiating a new industry, even in a region with a rich history of supplying the energy demands of our nation, will take time.??

Earlier this week, we took the first step to catalyze the winds of change towards a renewable energy future.??

Today, we celebrate an important milestone for offshore wind development in the Gulf of Mexico – and we look forward to hosting more sales in the future.?

The Gulf is well-positioned to harness the region’s existing energy infrastructure, workforce, and business expertise in offshore operations in order to immediately advance and benefit offshore wind development.?

Unleashing the Gulf’s Offshore Wind Energy Capacity??

With a high bid of $5.6 million, RWE Offshore US Gulf, LLC is the provisional winner of the Gulf of Mexico Lake Charles lease area.??

This lease area will have the potential to generate 1,244MW of electricity, enough to power about 435,400 homes and create hundreds of jobs.??

This lease sale is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to create a clean energy future.??

By harnessing our offshore wind energy potential in the Gulf of Mexico, we can tackle the climate crisis, lower energy costs for families, and create good-paying jobs. This sale is part of our broader strategy to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030 and achieve a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035.?

Using the Best Available Science to Identify the Lease Areas?

To identify the most suitable lease areas, BOEM collaborated with NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science to build an ocean model that would inform the best location for offshore wind energy development. The initial call area that was analyzed included 30 million acres – by avoiding conflicts with other important resources and considering input from various groups, like fishers, conservationists, and industries, the final lease areas were focused down to approximately 300K acres.?

In addition to BOEM’s collaboration with NOAA, at every stage of the planning process, BOEM worked directly with stakeholders through meetings and public comment periods.?

The process also included the completion of an environmental assessment (EA), which considered potential environmental impacts from site characterization activities (i.e. survey work) and site assessment activities (i.e., installation and operation of meteorological buoys) associated with issuing wind energy leases in the area.?

The Gulf of Mexico Final EA found that offshore wind energy leasing and site characterization in the area would cause no significant impact on the environment. This determination was made possible by the work of the Gulf of Mexico Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force, a collaboration between Tribal, Federal, state, and local government agencies to use the best available science and indigenous knowledge to minimize conflicts between ocean uses.?

Prior to further development in the area, specifically construction and operation of an offshore wind energy facility in the Gulf, BOEM will conduct additional project-specific environmental reviews on any projects that are proposed for the lease areas.?

Building a Domestic Supply Chain?

To deliver the maximum benefits of this lease sale, we included innovative lease stipulations and bidding credits that will expand our clean energy economy, provide good-paying jobs, and build out our nation’s offshore wind supply chain.?

For this sale, RWE earned bidding credits that include:?

• A 20% credit (of cash bid) in exchange for a commitment to make a qualifying monetary contribution (in the same amount) to programs that support workforce training programs, the development of a domestic supply chain, or both.?
• A 10% credit (of cash bid) to establish or contribute to an existing fisheries compensatory mitigation fund to mitigates potential negative impacts to commercial and for-hire recreational fisheries caused by development. Lessees will also be required to develop a Fisheries Communications Plan for ongoing engagement with the fishing community.?

Lease provisions include:?

• A requirement to obtain the required authorizations pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act prior to conducting survey activities.??

• An incentive to establish a durable domestic supply chain to sustain the US offshore wind energy, which includes having RWE establish a Statement of Goals and provide regular progress updates on their plans for contributing to the creation of a robust and resilient US-based offshore wind industry supply chain.??
• A stipulation that RWE makes every reasonable effort to enter into a Project Labor Agreement covering the construction stage of any project for the lease areas.?
• A requirement for RWE to provide semi-annual reports on their outreach and engagement, and to make reasonable efforts to implement a project in a manner that minimizes and mitigates any adverse community effects. RWE must engage with parties that may be affected by its activities, including Tribes with cultural and/or historical ties to the lease areas, coastal communities, underserved communities, commercial and recreational fishing industries, educational and research institutions, environmental and public interest non-governmental organizations, mariners and the maritime industry, and other ocean users.?

For additional details on the lease sale and the Gulf of Mexico offshore wind energy activities:?

• Press Release: https://www.boem.gov/newsroom/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-holds-first-ever-gulf-mexico-offshore-wind ?
• Federal Register Notice: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/07/21/2023-15501/final-sale-notice-fsn-for-commercial-leasing-for-wind-power-development-on-the-outer-continental ??
• BOEM Gulf of Mexico Activities webpage: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/gulf-mexico-activities ??