U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland today announced the nation’s offshore wind leasing schedule for the next five years and the finalization of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) Renewable Energy Modernization Rule during remarks at the International Partnering Forum conference in New Orleans. The five-year leasing schedule includes plans to hold up to 12 lease sales across the Central Atlantic, Gulf of Maine, Gulf of Mexico, Oregon, the New York Bight, California, a U.S. Territory, and Hawaii between 2024 and 2028.

The final Modernization Rule is intended to streamline the offshore wind leasing process and is expected to result in cost savings of roughly $1.9 billion to the offshore wind industry over the next 20 years.

In response to the announcements, the BlueGreen Alliance released the following statement from Director of Offshore Wind Sarah Giltz:

“Growing our nation’s offshore wind capacity is critical to the success of our clean economy. Coast to coast the potential of offshore wind to transform and modernize our energy system—while creating jobs and boosting local economies—is massive. We welcome today’s announcements from Secretary Haaland and look forward to working with BOEM to see these plans through to fruition.”