Biden blows past expectations with $3 billion in wind lease sales

The first auction for offshore wind development rights under the Biden administration reached $3.3 billion as of Friday morning. The offshore wind lease sale, when concluded, will result in a record-breaking haul.

According to Reuters, the revenue from the auction will be more than double the revenue the government collected in the previous five years from auctions of offshore oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico.

The proceeds from the auction amount to a more than 700% increase over the last such auction, which occurred in 2018 and brought in $405 million.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is conducting the sale for the region known as the New York Bight, located between Long Island, New York, and New Jersey.

Development of the New York Bight has been projected to lead to 80,000 new jobs by 2030. In addition to the Bight, six additional areas have been identified by the government as possible sites for future lease auctions by 2030.

The Department of Energy said that when the development of the leased area is complete, it could power nearly 2 million homes.

The Biden administration has touted the reduction of emissions that contribute to climate change as a priority and has emphasized support for clean energy, like wind, as a key part of that campaign.

During former President Donald Trump’s term in office, his administration was hostile to clean energy and prioritized fossil fuels despite the effects of pollution on global climate change.

In Dec. 2019, while addressing wind energy, Trump said he was skeptical about the technology because it purportedly contributes to “tremendous fumes and gases” that he said were “spewing into the atmosphere.”

Trump also said, “I never understood wind. You know, I know windmills very much. They’re noisy. They kill the birds. You want to see a bird graveyard? Go under a windmill someday. You’ll see more birds than you’ve ever seen in your life.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.