Court ruling provides US offshore wind regulator more leeway to meet 2025 leasing goal
Delay of offshore oil and gas tender extends BOEM's window for holding last three targeted auctions
A court-ordered delay of the latest offshore oil & gas leasing round in the Gulf of Mexico extends the window for offshore wind tenders until yearend, potentially enabling the main federal regulatory agency to hold seven such auctions by 2025.
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) delayed oil & gas lease sale 261 – the last in its five-year schedule – that was to be held Wednesday until 8 November by order of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
The ruling requires BOEM include blocks that had been removed over concerns of impacts on rare Rice’s whale, with the delay allowing for “a more orderly lease sale process.”
Landmark climate legislation Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) requires that offshore wind leasing rounds occur within 12-months of the latest at-sea petroleum tenders.
The delay extends BOEM’s window for completing all of its pledged offshore wind lease auctions until nearly the end of 2024.
In 2021, President Joe Biden's administration targeted holding seven offshore wind leasing rounds by 2025. It has already held four, including in the New York Bight, the Carolina Long Bay, off California, and in the Gulf of Mexico.
“BOEM will continue to comply with the Inflation Reduction Act,” Eng said.
BOEM is in the planning process for offshore wind leasing in the Central Atlantic, Gulf of Maine, and Oregon.
Each of these regions has multiple stakeholders that have already raised concerns that could delay the leasing process.