On July 31, the Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) failed to live up to President Joe Biden’s promise of an all-of-government approach to tackling the climate crisis. The offshore wind lease areas for the Central Atlantic that BOEM issued are woefully insufficient. Combined, the new lease areas total only 356,550 acres, which is not enough space for the region to meet its offshore wind energy goals.
Offshore wind has the promise to bring good union jobs to our region, lower energy prices, and slash pollution, but the maps BOEM released today will limit the benefit wind will be able to bring to the Central Atlantic. At a time when heat waves are costing the US billions of dollars, President Biden should be clearing the way for as much affordable, clean energy as possible. We urge President Biden to direct BOEM to open up more federal waters for offshore wind development and to ensure that the B-1 lease area is not shrunk any further. We also urge BOEM to open up a new Central Atlantic leasing process for additional shallow and deep water areas within one year.
