Auction is first step in long journey for US offshore

摘要

After eight years in the making, the first-ever competitive auction for offshore wind leases in US federal waters was a welcome step forward for the nascent industry. But many hurdles remain before any turbines will be installed on the 164,750 acres off the coast of Rhode Island that went up for grabs in the recent auction. The late-July lease sale, the first of a series the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is planning to help spur offshore wind development along the US Atlantic coast, was for two separate zones. Deepwater Wind, based in Rhode Island, beat Philadelphia-based Sea Breeze Energy and US Wind, a subsidiary of Italian renewable-energy company Renexia, to win both blocks in 11 rounds of online bidding.