The sale of federal waters between New Jersey and Long Island made history as the highest-grossing competitive offshore energy lease sale in the U.S.
Last week’s sale offered 488,000 acres in the New York Bight for potential wind energy development. Winning bids from six companies totaled over $4 billion, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Officials said the sale is a milestone in the Biden administration’s goal to produce 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management initially wanted to reserve 1.7 million acres for projects in the New York Bight, but that was reduced after talks with the commercial fishing industry, tribes and key stakeholders.
The leases will have to go through an audit by the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission before anything can be finalized.
