As part of the Obama comprehensive Climate Action Plan to create American jobs, develop domestic clean energy resources via wind and other sources and cut carbon pollution, the Interior Department Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today held the 5th competitive lease sale for renewable energy in federal waters, which offered nearly 344,000 acres offshore New Jersey for potential wind energy development. The provisional winners of the lease sale are RES America Developments Inc., which bid $880,715 for lease area OCS-A 0498 (160,480 acres), and US Wind Inc., which bid $1,006,240 for OCS-A 0499 (183,353 acres). Fishermen Energy LLC also participated in the lease sale. According to an analysis prepared by the U.S. DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory, if fully developed, the area leased could support about 3,400 megawatts of commercial wind generation, enough electricity to power about 1.2 million homes.
But at what cost and reliability? The auction underscores the emerging market demand for renewable energy and marks another major step in starting up a sustainable offshore wind program for Atlantic coast communities, said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. Through extensive outreach and public engagement, they reduced potential use conflicts while moving the country closer to harnessing the enormous potential of wind energy along the Atlantic coast. They are pleased to see continued commercial interest in the offshore wind industry, as demonstrated by the lease sale. With provisional winners for both lease areas, they are optimistic about the promise of a strong renewable energy future offshore New Jersey, as well as for the entire nation, said BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper.
I look forward to working with the members of the New Jersey Renewable Energy Task Force and the public on future wind energy projects proposed for these leases by RES America Developments Inc. and US Wind Inc. But what will be the cost of electricity to consumers?
Original working URL: https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-auctions-344000-acres-offshore-new-jersey-wind-energy-development
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