US Plans Next Gulf of Mexico Offshore Wind Auction for 2026 as Two Companies Express Interest in Same Areas

December 12, 2024, by Adrijana Buljan

Invenergy has responded to the Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI) that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) launched this summer for two wind energy areas (WEAs) in the Gulf of Mexico for which the federal agency had received an unsolicited lease request from Hecate Energy.

Hecate Energy and Invenergy propose to build 2+ GW offshore wind projects using turbines with a single unit capacity of between 15 MW and 23 MW.

BOEM has deemed both Hecate and Invenergy to be legally, technically, and financially qualified to hold a renewable energy lease in the Gulf of Mexico. Based on this, BOEM has determined that competitive interest in the two RFCI areas exists and will publish a Determination of Competitive Interest in the Federal Register tomorrow, 13 December.

The agency will now analyse the other comments received in response to the RFCI and evaluate which portions of the two areas, and other potential WEA options, are best suited for sale with a plan to hold the next offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico in 2026.

BOEM will release draft WEAs for public input early next year.

Hecate Energy submitted an unsolicited application for wind energy lease(s) in WEA options C and D, located off the coast of Southeast Texas, in February 2024. BOEM then issued a Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI) for WEAs C and D on 26 July, the same day the agency announced it cancelled the second offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico due to lack of interest.

The two areas where Invenergy and Hecate want to build offshore wind farms are not the same as those that were the subject of the cancelled lease sale.

Company Submits Lease Request for Offshore Wind Areas Off Texas

Planning & Permitting

Hecate Energy has proposed a 2 GW fixed-bottom offshore wind project that would consist of up to 133 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 15-23 MW. The company has identified three points of interconnection within Texas and Louisiana and is examining twelve potential landfall locations with paths to three designated substations. Export cables would run separately from each of the two lease areas, or the lease areas would be joined offshore with one substation and one central export cable.

Invenergy’s project would consist of up to 140 wind turbines with expected capacities of more than 15 MW for a total installed capacity of up to 2.5 GW. The turbines would connect to between one and four offshore substations.