Save for later Print Download Share LinkedIn Twitter The US Department of the Interior on Tuesday announced it is looking at potential opportunities to develop wind projects in the US Gulf of Mexico, part of the Biden administration’s push to reach 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. Interior on Tuesday floated a request for interest notice, taking comment through mid-August to gauge interest in opening the US Gulf to wind projects, with a focus on the Western and Central Planning Areas off the coasts of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland called the move “an important first step to see what role the Gulf may play in this exciting frontier.” To date, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has leased approximately 1.7 million acres in the Outer Continental Shelf for offshore wind development and has 17 commercial leases on the Atlantic, from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras, according to Interior. But Interior has been eyeing ways to accelerate approvals for wind projects to meet the 2030 targets, including drawing from oil and gas regulatory resources (OD Jun.7'21).
