Equinor, Dominion win US Central Atlantic offshore wind auction
Adds number of participants in auction, statements from Equinor and Dominion in paragraphs 5-8, 10
Aug 14 (Reuters) -Norway's Equinor EQNR.OL and U.S. power company Dominion D.N were the winning bidders in a U.S. government offshore wind auction of two areas off the coasts of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, the U.S. InteriorDepartment said on Wednesday.
The offshore wind lease sale generated less than $93 million in winning bids, making it among the least lucrative of those held by the Biden administration.
U.S. President Joe Biden has put the development of offshore wind at the forefront of his climate change agenda, but the industry has stumbled in the last year due to soaring costs and supply chain disruptions.
Equinor bid $75 million for a 101,443-acre lease 26 miles (42 km) from Delaware Bay. Dominion's Virginia Electric and Power Co won a 176,505-acre lease 35 miles from Chesapeake Bay for $17.65 million. Six companies participated in the auction, the Interior Department said.
Both Equinor and Dominion are already developing offshore wind projects in U.S. waters.
"Offshore wind is critical to our all-of-the-above approach to meet the unprecedented growth of our customer electric demand over the next decade," Dominion CEO Robert Blue said in a statement. "Winning this lease area gives us another low-cost option to meet that growing demand while providing our customers with reliable, affordable and increasing clean energy."
Equinor said its newest U.S. lease would not produce power until after 2035.
"We will take a disciplined approach to minimize risk and mature a robust project in our portfolio," Pal Eitrheim, executive vice president of Equinor Renewables, said in a statement.
Last month, the Interior Department'sBureau of Ocean Energy Management canceled a planned sale of offshore wind leases in the Gulf of Mexico due to a lack of industry interest. An auction held there last year resulted in the sale of just one of three offered leases for $5.6 million.
The Interior Department plans to hold offshore wind auctions later this year for areas off the coast of Oregon and in the Gulf of Maine.
Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Jan Harvey and Paul Simao
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
