The US Department of the Interior has proposed the first Gulf of Mexico wind lease sale.
The Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) covers an area comprising 102,480 acres off Lake Charles, Louisiana, and two areas off Galveston, Texas, one comprising 102,4800 acres and the other 96,786 acres. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is seeking public comments on which, if any, of the two areas off Galveston should be offered in the Final Sale Notice.
The BOEM is also seeking feedback on several lease stipulations, including:
- Bidding credits to bidders that commit to supporting workforce training programmes for the industry, developing a domestic supply chain for the industry, or both
- Establishing and contributing to a fisheries compensatory mitigation fund or contributing to an existing fund to mitigate potential negative impacts to commercial and for-hire recreational fisheries caused by offshore wind development in the Gulf of Mexico
- Requiring that lessees provide a regular progress report summarising engagement with Tribes and ocean users potentially affected by proposed offshore wind activities
The PSN will be published in the Federal Register later this month, which will initiate a 60-day public comment period. If the sale proceeds, a Final Sale Notice will be published at least 30 days before the sale.
