RWE Renewables has won in the California offshore wind lease auction in the United States, securing Lease Area OCS-P 0561 with a winning bid of $157.7 million.
The auction consisted of five lease areas. RWE Renewables will use floating technology at commercial-scale due to water depths.
Sven Utermohlen, CEO Offshore Wind of RWE Renewables, said: “We have a clear ambition to establish RWE as a key player in offshore wind in the United States, one of the key strategic markets to grow our portfolio.”
RWE’s awarded site is 45 kilometers offshore in the Humboldt Bay off the north coast of California and has water depths of 723 meters. The lease area has the potential to host up to 1.6 gigawatts (GW) of capacity, enough to power 640,000 U.S. homes with clean energy. The project is expected to be in operation by the mid-2030s.
California is currently planning for the build-out of a long-term offshore wind industry, including a goal of bringing 25 GW of offshore wind online by 2045. The national target is to build 15 GW of floating offshore wind by 2035.
Earlier in 2022, RWE won bid in the New York Bight lease auction and awarded a 3 GW Lease Area off the coast of New York and New Jersey through the joint venture Community Offshore Wind.