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US BOEM cancels offshore wind tender and mulls new bids in Gulf of Mexico

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has cancelled its Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) for its second Gulf of Mexico offshore wind sale issued in March 2024, which corresponded to four areas (WEA I-1, WEA I-2, WEA J, and WEA K) with the potential to power 1.2 million homes, due to a lack of competitive interest. 

Meanwhile, it has issued a Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI) regarding commercial offshore wind energy development in the south-eastern coast of the US state of Texas. The RFCI correspond to an unsolicited lease request by Hecate Energy Gulf Wind to develop a total of 57,607 ha (142,352 acres) covering Wind Energy Area Options C and D. If the RFCI receives one or more indicators of interest from qualified entities, the BOEM may decide to move forward with a competitive lease sale; in case it does not receive any indicator of interest, it may decide to issue a non-competitive lease to Hecate Energy.

At the federal level, the United States targets 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 15 GW of floating wind capacity by 2035. At the end of 2023, the US only had 42 MW of offshore wind capacity.