Avangrid, Invenergy Winners of First Gulf of Maine Offshore Wind Auction

October 30, 2024, by Adnan Memija

Avangrid and Invenergy have each secured two lease areas in the Gulf of Maine auction, where total bids exceeded USD 21.9 million (approximately EUR 20 million), marking the first lease sale in the region and the first for floating offshore wind on the US Atlantic coast.

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held the auction on 29 October, which resulted in two provisional winners on four lease areas.

Avangrid won OCS-564 for USD 4.9 million, which consists of 98,565 acres, and OCS-568 for USD 6.2 million, which consists of 124,897 acres.

Both lease areas are approximately 29.5 nautical miles (approximately 55 kilometres) from Massachusetts.

Avangrid said that it will work to develop the lease areas, with the potential to deliver 3 GW of clean power, to help the energy needs of the New England region and advance the US 30 GW offshore wind target.

The lease areas also enable the company to help progress floating wind technology, as the next generation of offshore wind development is increasingly sited in deeper waters, according to Avangrid, Iberdrola’s US subsidiary.

“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.”

When it comes to Invenergy, the company secured the OCS-562 area for USD 4.9 million, which consists of 97,854 acres and is approximately 46.2 nautical miles (about 86 kilometres) from Maine. Additionally, Invenergy secured lease OCS-567 for USD 5.9 million, covering 117,780 acres and located about 21.6 nautical miles (40 kilometres) from Massachusetts.

Together, the leased areas have the potential to power more than 2.3 million homes with renewable energy, according to the US Department of Interior (DOI).

*Source: The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)*

“Today’s lease sale will support development of floating offshore wind in deep water sites, and the Administration is working through the interagency Floating Offshore Wind Shot to position the United States as a leader on these new technologies”, said DOI.

The sale resulted in over USD 5.4 million in total bidding credits. These credits represent binding commitments by companies to invest over USD 2.7 million in workforce training and domestic supply chain development, and an additional USD 2.7 million for fisheries compensatory mitigation.

The areas awarded do no authorize the construction or operation of any offshore wind farm, but rather, they provide the right to submit a project plan for BOEM’s review. BOEM will develop an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the specific impacts of any project proposals before deciding on whether to approve a proposed construction and operations plan.

Earlier, BOEM launched bidding for eight areas off the coasts of Maine and Massachusetts, which could accommodate approximately 13 GW of offshore wind projects; however, only four of these areas attracted bidders.