The Biden Administration has made the production of green energy one of its top priorities, and a recent lease sale off the coast of New York and New Jersey is just one step in the process. On Wednesday, the Administration announced a record-breaking offshore wind lease sale that is projected to generate enough clean energy to power two million homes as well as create thousands of green energy jobs in neighboring communities.
According to officials in the Biden Administration, the upcoming lease sale in the New York Bight is expected to generate up to seven gigawatts of clean energy, aid in creating thousands of green energy jobs in the sectors of construction and manufacturing as well as operations, maintenance and in service as well.
The sale includes “innovative lease provisions” that are expected to lead to offshore wind projects that will be built using Made in America materials and union jobs.
The Biden Administration official said that New York, New Jersey as well as the federal government will build these new leases that will ensure that local residents, including those in underserved communities, will benefit from the development of these leases.
According to Biden Administration officials, there are a number of federal agencies that are working together to rapidly build up offshore wind industries, which they believe will create upwards of 80,000 jobs by the year 2030; they expect these jobs to pay well, in addition.
One of the areas which the Biden Administration points to include the port investments made by the Department of Transportation; something that they hope will develop areas where these turbine components will be both built and stored. According to the Biden Administration, the Departments of Commerce as well as the Departments of the Interior and the Department of Energy is working to promote biodiversity as well as cooperative ocean use that will support innovation in the supply chain.
Other federal agencies which are getting in on the wind energy innovation include the Department of Agriculture as well as the Department of Defense. The Environmental Protection Agency is also a part of the effort to build wind turbines and to promote green jobs. These departments are specifically studying the efficiency and effectiveness of clean energy projects that are built on public lands. These groups are also studying the expansion of solar energy as well as geothermal energy and onshore wind projects. The Department of Interior has approved eighteen projects that are expected to deliver up to 4.175 gigawatts of clean energy.
The Department of Energy is also expected to introduce an initiative called the Building a Better Grid. This is intended to hasten the deployment of new transmission lines. This is a part of the Bipartisan infrastructure bill that was passed in late 2021.
The Biden Administration believes that this update to transmission lines will provide more reliable in the case of inclement weather, such as what took place in Texas last year during an unseasonably cold winter. President Joe Biden has set a goal for the United States to produce one hundred percent carbon-free electricity by the year 2035.
The Department of Agriculture is currently working on initiatives to create a pilot program to ensure that this clean energy reaches rural areas. The Administration is also working on making it easier for local governments to approve rooftop solar panels using the SolarAPP+ tool, which is said to reduce the time for which permits must be reviewed. Over one hundred twenty-five localities have already signed up to utilize the SolarAPP+ tool, and the Department of Energy is hoping to increase that number via recruiting.
