The Department of the Interior announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will hold a wind auction next month for more than 488,000 acres off the coasts of New York and New Jersey, according to a senior administration official. This upcoming sale is expected to generate 5.6 to 7 gigawatts of clean energy, according to a government fact sheet.
The administration estimates that by 2025 it expects to hold up to six additional offshore lease sales across the nation, according to the senior official.
Wednesday’s announcement includes investments from the Department of Transportation for the Port of Albany and the Portsmouth Marine Terminal to strengthen the US offshore wind supply chain.
Seven federal agencies, according to the fact sheet, are part of the new clean energy initiatives that will “fight climate change, produce good-paying union jobs, and accelerate America’s clean energy economy.”
“Our existing energy infrastructure will not endure accelerating impacts of extreme weather spurred by climate change,” another senior administration official said.
Additionally, the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Defense and Energy, along with the Environmental Protection Agency, are working to streamline and improve the reviews of clean energy projects on public lands managed by the Agriculture and Interior departments.
The US Department of Agriculture is launching a pilot program to support clean energy in rural communities, according to one senior administration official.
