Auction for Lease Areas for Offshore Wind Farms Generate $405 Million
Dec. 18, 2018
The three lease areas auctioned today are located 19.8 nautical miles from Martha’s Vineyard, 16.7 nautical miles from Nantucket, and 44.5 nautical miles from Block Island.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently announced the completion of the nation’s eighth and highest grossing competitive lease sale for renewable energy in federal waters off the coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The three lease areas auctioned today are located 19.8 nautical miles from Martha’s Vineyard, 16.7 nautical miles from Nantucket, and 44.5 nautical miles from Block Island.
A BOEM press release said the lease sale offered approximately 390,000 acres offshore Massachusetts for potential wind energy development and drew competitive winning bids from three companies totaling approximately $405 million in winning bids. If fully developed, the areas could support approximately 4.1 gigawatts of commercial wind generation, enough electricity to power nearly 1.5 million homes. A map of the lease areas can be found here.