Biden Administration Announces Initiatives for Offshore Wind
On March 29, National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg met with state officials, industry executives, and labor leaders to announce new leasing, funding, and goals to accelerate and deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. According to the Department of Energy, this would support 45,000 jobs, generate enough electricity to power over 10 million American homes, and avoid 78 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The Administration also announced a new Wind Energy Area between Long Island and the New Jersey coast, a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Ocean Wind, a Notice of Funding Opportunity for port authorities and other applicants to apply for $230 million for port and intermodal infrastructure-related projects through the Port Infrastructure Development Program, the award of $8 million to 15 offshore wind research and development projects that were selected through a competitive process, a fact sheet to facilitate access for the offshore wind industry for $3 billion in funding through the Innovative Energy Loan Guarantee Program, a Memorandum of Agreement with offshore wind development company Ørsted to share physical and biological data in Ørsted-leased waters subject to U.S. jurisdiction, and a request for research proposals to support more than $1 million in grant funding to improve understanding of offshore renewable energy for the benefit of a diversity of stakeholders including fishing and coastal communities.