US Offshore Wind Auction Sets Record

Equinor Wind, Mayflower Wind Energy and Vineyard Wind—all based in Europe— were the provisional winners of what U.S. federal officials are calling the highest-grossing federal offshore wind lease sale to date for the country.

The Dec. 13-14 auction for the three wind leases, leftovers from the 2015 Atlantic wind lease sale, offshore Massachusetts brought in a record $405 million in bids—each for about $135 million.

“We are truly blown away by these results,” Walter Cruickshank, acting director for the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said on a media call Dec. 14.