By: Inspenet, December 14, 2022.
Equinor, the Norwegian energy company, was one of the interim winners of an offshore wind lease area on the outer continental shelf off California, USA.
The Office of Ocean Energy Management offered five leases in the first US West Coast offshore wind lease sale and the first US sale to support floating-scale offshore wind development opportunities commercial.
With a $130 million offer for 80,062 acres in the Pacific Ocean, Equinor secured a 2 GW lease in the Morro Bay area that has the potential to generate enough power to power 750,000 US homes.
About two-thirds of America’s offshore wind potential is in deep water. The narrow outer continental shelf that runs along the Pacific coast rapidly drops to 3,280 feet or more, opening up new energy opportunities for the West Coast: floating offshore wind. As the world’s leading floating offshore wind operator and developer, Equinor looks forward to applying its expertise to create a sustainable offshore wind industry in California.
Following regulatory approvals, the new lease will add to Equinor’s existing US portfolio, which includes the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind projects on the US northeast coast, and has the potential to generate total capacity of at least 2 GW of renewable energy for the West Coast.
Photo: ShutterStock
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