The Biden administration is planning to extend the fledgling offshore wind sector’s footprint deeper into the Gulf of Mexico, reports Energy Wire. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is inviting the offshore wind industry to propose areas for potential leasing across a 30-million-acre swath of the Gulf of Mexico from south Louisiana to the Mexico border.
Should BOEM move forward with leasing in the Gulf after the call for commercial interest is complete, it will perform an environmental review of the area in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and consult with state and tribal authorities before it holds the sale.
For its part, Louisiana has been supportive of potential offshore wind development in the Gulf, where it already has an active offshore workforce and supply chain associated with the oil sector. Gov. John Bel Edwards earlier this year convened his Climate Initiatives Task Force to work with BOEM on future leasing potential. Read the full story.
