California's offshore wind lease sale for 4.5 GW to kick off in early Dec

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) plans to launch an offshore wind lease auction for five areas off California’s coast on December 6, it said on Tuesday.

The competitive solicitation will enable the construction of 4.5 GW of offshore turbine capacity on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Due to the depth of the Pacific Ocean floor, these areas are set to host floating wind platforms.

The proposed lease sale, the first on America’s west coast, will cover three areas off central California and two sites off northern California. The total area to be leased stands at about 373,268 acres (151,056 ha). If fully deployed, the targeted capacity will generate power to cover the electricity consumption of more than 1.5 million homes.

The Final Sale Notice (FSN) is due to be published in the Federal Register later this week. It will include details on the specific areas, proposed lease provisions concerning supply chain development and labour arrangements, as well as a list of identified companies that have been qualified to bid in the auction.

The Biden administration has set a target of 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and a goal of 15 GW for floating offshore wind energy capacity by 2035. In 2021, the US outlined plans for BOEM to hold up to seven new offshore lease sales by 2025, including a lease sale for northern and central California.

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