The US Department of the Interior announced today it was holding a sale of offshore wind energy leases, including one for the Gulf of Maine, to be held next month.

The department will hold an auction on Oct. 29 for eight different areas off the coasts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. 

In a statement, the department indicated all eight areas, if fully developed, could generate as much as 13 gigawatts of electricity, which could power more than 4.5 million homes.

President Joe Biden has said since taking office that he has a goal of seeing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy developed by 2030. The department has already held five offshore wind lease sales elsewhere in the country, and approved previous offshore wind projects that will generate more than 15 gigawatts of energy. 

“The growing enthusiasm for the clean energy future is infectious,” said Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. “Today’s announcement – which builds on the execution of the nation’s first floating offshore wind energy research lease in Maine last month – is the result of years of thoughtful coordination between our team, the Gulf of Maine states, industry and the tribes and ocean users who share our interest in the health and longevity of our ocean.”

The areas up for lease, according to the department, were chosen through avoiding “offshore fishing grounds, sensitive habitats and existing and future vessel transit routes.”

Jack Shapiro, climate and clean energy director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, supported the department’s announcement.

“This final sale notice is a massive milestone for realizing the enormous potential to deliver vast amounts of affordable, reliable, home-grown clean energy to Maine and the rest of New England,” he said.  

The lease itself, according to the department, is not authorization to build or run an offshore wind facility, but does allow the lessee to submit plans.