US resumes record-breaking New York Bight offshore wind leasing round

Developers are due to pay more than $4 billion for six offshore wind leases off New York and New Jersey – and bid prices are set to rise further still when the leasing round continues.

US government agency the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) paused bidding at 6pm (EST) yesterday (24 February) as combined bids reached $3,350 million. This sum is more than eight times the $405 million raised in a 2018 leasing round held off Massachusetts.

BOEM has now resumed the auction today (9am EST, 25 February). Combined bids now total more than $4.2 billion.

Out of the 14 bidders that joined the auction at 9am on 23 February, seven now remain. One bidder left the tender on the first day of bidding, with a second dropping out on the second day, and a further five on the third day.

Bidding has now reached $1 billion for one lease area.

The auction will continue until there is only one remaining active bidder per lease area, BOEM advised.

Avangrid Renewables, BP, EDF Renewables, Equinor, Green Investment Group, Invenergy, PNE, RWE and SSE are among 25 bidders initially ruled eligible to compete in the tender. However, it is not known which developers are still active in the round. 

The six available lease areas in the New York Bight have a combined area of more than 1,975km² and could support 5.6-7GW of offshore wind capacity, according to BOEM.

More to follow.