The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold a lease auction in the Gulf of Mexico in 2026 for two lease areas after determining that there is competitive interest in developing offshore wind in the area.
The move comes after the agency cancelled a previously-scheduled lease auction in the area in July.
Following the July cancellation, BOEM announced it had received an unsolicited request to develop a project from Hectate Gulf Wind Energy.
After receiving the Hectate request, BOEM published a call for interest seeking feedback on the Hectate request.
Chicago-based Invenergy expressed interest in the same lease areas targeted by Hectate, leading to BOEM's determination that there is competitive interest in the area.
“The Gulf of Mexico remains an attractive option for offshore wind energy development,” said Gulf of Mexico Regional Director Jim Kendall.
“We are excited about the future of this emerging sector in the region.”
The next step in that process will be to continue to analyse the other comments received in response to the request for interest, and evaluate which portions of the lease areas are best suited for sale, BOEM said.
The agency will release draft lease area for public comment early next year.
