US Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Acting Director Walter Cruickshank have announced that more than 742,000 acres offshore Massachusetts will be offered for commercial wind energy development in a January 29, 2015, competitive lease sale.
This will be the largest competitive lease sale to date for offshore wind energy development in the USA. If fully developed, the area being offered could support between 4 and 5GW of commercial wind generation. Twelve companies have qualified to participate in the auction for the Massachusetts Wind Energy Area. The Massachusetts Wind Energy Area will be auctioned as four leases.
