US announces ambitious plan to build giant wind farms on both coasts

The Biden administration is aiming to develop at least seven large-scale wind farms along U.S. coastlines as part of the president’s plan to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power over the next decade.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Wednesday announced plans to hold up to seven new offshore lease sales in federal waters by 2025 on both the east and west coasts.

The administration is looking to have wind farms in the Gulf of Maine, Gulf of Mexico and off the coasts of New York and Mid-Atlantic states, the Carolinas, California and Oregon.

“This timetable provides two crucial ingredients for success: increased certainty and transparency. Together, we will meet our clean energy goals while addressing the needs of other ocean users and potentially impacted communities. We have big goals to achieve a clean energy economy and Interior is meeting the moment,” Haaland said.

The department has also partnered with other federal agencies to ramp up renewable energy production on public lands, with the goal of producing at least 25 gigawatts of onshore renewable energy over the next five years.

The announcement comes after the Biden administration earlier this year approved construction of the first large-scale offshore wind project in the country off the coast of Massachusetts.

The Vineyard Wind project will be located 12 nautical miles from Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., and is expected to be completed in 2023. The wind project will consist of 84 wind turbines that can produce enough energy to power more than 400,000 homes. The administration has previously said it expects the project to create 3,600 jobs.

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