August 26, 2024 — Less than a month after announcing the availability of the final environmental impact statement for a proposed wind project offshore from Maryland, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has announced the results of a wind energy auction for two lease areas offshore from Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
According to a press release from BOEM, the sale, which took place Aug. 14, was the first in the region in a decade and resulted in two provisional winners totaling $92.65 million in successful bids.
Norwegian-based Equinor Wind US LLC provisionally won Lease OCS-A 0557 at roughly $75 million, which consists of 101,443 acres and is approximately 26 nautical miles from Delaware Bay. Virginia Electric and Power Co. provisionally won Lease OCS-A 0558 at roughly $17.7 million, which consists of 176,505 acres and is approximately 35 nm from the entrance of Chesapeake Bay. Six companies participated in the auction.
“Equinor’s interest in this auction is consistent with our approach to pursue attractive offshore wind opportunities in the United States,” said Molly Morris, Equinor Renewables US president, in a prepared statement shortly after the announcement was made. “The Central Atlantic region has a rapidly growing demand for electricity with widespread support for adding renewable sources of energy into the power mix.”