The first auction of offshore leases for wind power development in the Gulf of Mexico takes place today. Interim LSU Center for Energy Studies Director Greg Upton says about 300,000 are set to be auctioned off near Lake Charles and Galveston, Texas.
“Companies will actually bid on how much they’re willing to pay the federal government in order to build offshore wind out there and power part of our power grid.”
The tracts of water in the Gulf of Mexico up for auction have the potential to generate 3.7 gigawatts, that’s enough power for nearly 1.3 million homes. Upton says the economics of solar power may be more cost-competitive than offshore wind.
“Bringing the power in from the Gulf of Mexico on to shore then hooking that up to our electric grid is pretty expensive. I think some of these projects will move but we will definitely be watching the economics closely.”
While the Biden administration has set a goal of installing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, Upton says companies like Entergy are embracing wind energy projects and reducing their carbon footprint.
“One of the strategies is to displace coal with natural gas but if you want to start approaching that zero in the future you need to start looking at wind, that includes solar, it includes building out hydro as well as nuclear power.”
Upton says it will be three to five years before any wind projects appear in federal waters.
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