DOI Leases Area Offshore Massachusetts for Wind Energy Development

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) on January 29 held the nation's 4th competitive lease sale for renewable energy in federal waters offshore Massachusetts for potential wind energy development. Offshore MW LLC and RES America Developments, Incorporated were named the provisional winners, with bids totaling $448,000 for more 350,000 acres. The leases are in the Massachusetts Wind Energy Area, which starts about twelve nautical miles offshore Massachusetts. Each lease will have a preliminary term of one year, during which the companies will submit a Location Assessment Project for approval.

According to an analysis prepared by the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, if fully developed, the area leased could support approximately 2 gigawatts of commercial wind generation, enough electricity to power in excess of 700,000 homes.

Prior to this lease sale, DOI's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has awarded 5 competitive wind energy leases off the Atlantic coast: 2 offshore Massachusetts and Rhode Island, 2 offshore Maryland, and another offshore Virginia. See the DOI news release.

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