Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau have announced the proposed notice of sale for nearly 80,000 acres offshore Maryland for commercial wind energy leasing.
The part of the wind energy area closest to shore is located about 10 nautical miles off the coast of Ocean City, MD. The Maryland Wind Energy Area could support between 850 to 1450MW of commercial wind generation. BOEM proposes to auction the wind energy area as two leases, a North Lease Area and a South Lease Area. The North Lease Area consists of 32,737 acres, and the South Lease Area consists of 46,970 acres. The sale, which will be held in the form of an online auction, is expected next year.
