Avangrid Secures Two Lease Areas in Gulf of Maine Floating Wind Auction
30 October 2024 - 3:56AM
Business Wire
Avangrid adds to Iberdrola Group floating wind
portfolio, secures Lease Areas OCS-A 0564 and OCS-A 0568 with the
potential to deliver approximately 3 Gigawatts of clean energy to
New England region
Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading sustainable energy company
and member of the Iberdrola Group, today announced it has secured
two lease areas in the auction of sites for offshore wind
development in the Gulf of Maine held by the federal Bureau of
Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Avangrid was named provisional
winner of lease areas OCS-A 0564 (98,565 acres) for $4.9 million
and OCS-A 0568 (124,897 acres) for $6.2 million. Avangrid will work
to develop the lease areas, with the potential to deliver 3
Gigawatts of clean power, to help meet the energy needs of the New
England region and advance the United States 30 GW offshore wind
target. The lease areas also enable Avangrid to help progress
floating wind technology, as the next generation of offshore wind
development is increasingly sited in deeper waters.
“Avangrid is proud to secure two lease areas in today’s auction
with the potential to deliver 3 Gigawatts of clean energy to the
New England region, which affirms our position as a national leader
in the United States’ offshore wind industry and builds on the
Iberdrola Group’s global floating wind portfolio,” said Avangrid
CEO Pedro Azagra. “Securing these lease areas provides a unique
opportunity to advance our growing business at a significant value,
and reinforces our unwavering commitment to helping the New England
region meet its growing need for reliable, clean energy.”
Lease areas OCS-A 0564 and OCS-A 0568, located in the southwest
region of the Gulf of Maine development area approximately 30
nautical miles from shore, offer strong wind speeds; relatively
shallow waters within the limits of existing floating wind
technology; access to multiple interconnection points; and are
largely deconflicted from other ocean users following a rigorous
federal public engagement process.
In August 2024, ISO New England issued a draft report, Economic
Planning for the Clean Energy Transition, which found that in order
to meet its energy needs and state climate targets, the New England
region will need approximately 34 Gigawatts of offshore wind power
by 2050. To reach this goal, a sizable percentage of new offshore
wind in New England will need to utilize floating wind
technology.
Not including the lease area secured today, Avangrid has a
projected offshore wind pipeline of over 5 GW on the East Coast of
the United States – enough to power more than two million
households. In addition to the Vineyard Wind 1 project (800
Megawatts (MW), of which Avangrid is a 50% owner, Avangrid owns
100% of New England Wind 1 (791 MW), New England Wind 2 (1,079 MW),
and Kitty Hawk Wind South (2400 MW off the coast of Virginia and
North Carolina). With today’s result, Avangrid has the largest
offshore development portfolio in the Northeast region by total
acreage.
In addition to its substantial experience developing projects in
the U.S. market, including the Vineyard Wind 1 project, Avangrid is
positioned to leverage the global expertise of Iberdrola, which is
pioneering floating offshore wind in Europe and secured the rights
to develop 5 GW of floating wind as part of the ScotWind auction in
January 2022.
As one of the largest renewable energy developers in the nation,
Avangrid has a 9 GW portfolio of more than 75 wind and solar
facilities in 25 states, generating enough energy to power over 2.8
million homes across the country.
In September 2024, Avangrid’s 791 Megawatts (MW) New England
Wind 1 project was selected by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in
the multi-state regional offshore wind solicitation. New England
Wind 1 is an offshore wind development located in federal lease
area OCS-A-0534, roughly 30 miles south of Barnstable,
Massachusetts and making landfall under the Craigville Beach
parking lot in Barnstable. The project will border Vineyard Wind 1,
Avangrid’s first large-scale offshore wind project currently under
construction 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be
the leading sustainable energy company in the United States.
Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $45 billion in
assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary
lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks
business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas
utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and
New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and
operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities
across the United States. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000
people and has been recognized by JUST Capital as one of the JUST
100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens – in
2024 for the fourth consecutive year. In 2024, Avangrid ranked
first among utilities and 12 overall. The company supports the
U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the
World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive
year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group
of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information,
visit www.Avangrid.com.
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Avangrid Craig Gilvarg craig.gilvarg@Avangrid.com (857)
998-1130
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