The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has deemed 25 companies and consortia eligible to bid in today’s New York Bight offshore wind lease sale, including some of the biggest offshore wind and Big Oil names.
Shell, BP, and Equinor, alone or through joint ventures, are competing for acreage off New York and New Jersey alongside RWE, SSE Renewables, Ocean Winds, and Iberdrola’s Avangrid Renewables, among others.
The full list of the 25 eligible bidders includes:
Last month, BOEM found the companies and consortia legally, technically, and financially qualified to participate in the lease sale, however; this was subject to meeting further requirements outlined in the Final Sale Notice (FSN), including delivering a Bidder’s Financial Form (BFF) by 26 January and making a USD 5 million bid deposit until 9 February.
On 18 February, the agency held a Mock Auction online with bidders that filed a BFF and bid deposit on time.
For the real, monetary auction starting at 09:00 EST (15:00 CET) today, BOEM anticipates that it will take one day, but it may continue on consecutive (business) days, if necessary, until the lease sale ends in accordance with the auction procedures.
The agency will announce the provisional winners of the lease sale shortly after the auction ends.
Through the New York Bight offshore wind lease sale, the country’s biggest ever and the first organised by the Biden-Harris Administration, the US will offer a total of 488,201 acres across six areas in federal waters offshore New York and New Jersey.