Biden Plans Wind Energy in Gulf of Mexico

In an effort to demonstrate that he is addressing the climate catastrophe despite a congressional deadlock on the subject, President Joe Biden is expected to unveil plans to boost offshore wind production in the Gulf of Mexico and in Atlantic seas close to the Southeast US.

In a speech at the site of a decommissioned coal plant in Massachusetts, which is now ready to serve as a manufacturing base for the undersea power cables required to bring offshore wind power to land, President Biden will go over the steps. People familiar with the plans who wanted not to be identified because specifics are private detailed the policy statements.

The Interior Department has identified prospective places in the Gulf of Mexico to house wind turbines, and President Biden will announce the next stages in the process. The basin has long been a major supplier of US oil and gas. By 2030, Biden wants to install 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy. To that end, he has set auctions for land in California as well as eventual lease sales on nearly all US coasts.

Additionally, the president will give Interior Secretary Deb Haaland instructions to promote wind production in the waters off the Southeast United States. After receiving complaints from locals along the coast who were concerned about prospective drilling off their coastlines, the former president Donald Trump withdrew certain regions from offshore energy leasing, thereby shutting out future oil and wind projects in the area.

According to sources, President Biden is delaying taking any action to try to lift the prohibition on Trump leasing for the time being. The House last week passed a resolution that would reinstate the federal government's authority to sell offshore wind leases in the area, while there are legal uncertainties around the president's capacity to reverse a leasing withdrawal.

White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy will introduce several climate-related initiatives in the upcoming weeks.