© 2024 New Hampshire Public Radio

Persons with disabilities who need assistance accessing NHPR's FCC public files, please contact us at publicfile@nhpr.org.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Win a $15k travel voucher OR $10k in cash in NHPR's 1st Holiday Raffle!

First offshore wind auction for eight sites in the Gulf of Maine set for this week

This map from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management shows eight proposed sites where it may eventually solicit bids from commercial offshore wind developers.
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
This map from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management shows eight proposed sites where it may eventually solicit bids from commercial offshore wind developers.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will host the first competitive lease auction Tuesday for eight areas in the Gulf of Maine that federal officials want to develop into commercial offshore wind farms.

Six of the potential wind plots are located off outer Cape Cod. The remaining two sites are off the Maine coast. In total, the sites encompass about 850,000 acres.

If leased and developed entirely, federal officials say these areas have the potential to generate up to 13 gigawatts of wind energy, enough to power 4.5 million homes.

Qualified bidders can win no more than two leases each in the Gulf of Maine. If leases are issued, developers must then go through a lengthy permitting process for each site before construction can begin.

The auction will be held exactly one week before Election Day. Wind energy advocates and others have said that the outcome of the upcoming presidential race could impact the Gulf of Maine projects.

Related Content

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.