Gov. Deval Patrick and U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said Tuesday that over 742,000 acres off the coast of Massachusetts are being opened up for commercial leases for wind energy.
Patrick said Wednesday that Massachusetts "is poised to lead the charge in offshore wind energy development" and obtain economic and environmental benefits, according to The Daily Item.
Officials said the proposed area is the biggest area in federal waters. They added that the acreage used for commercial-scale wind energy projects will be doubled by this area.
The area is almost 12 miles offshore, located south of Martha's Vineyard. The acres will be split into four areas to be leased. Officials are looking to sell them before the end of the year, ABC News reported.
Jewell said 14 offshore wind energy companies have already showed their interest in leasing the area. She added that the number of companies looking into the leases can grow.
So far, five commercial leases for wind energy have been awarded by the government to certain locations off the Atlantic Coast. These leases include Cape Wind in Nantucket Sound off Massachusetts and an area off Delaware, according to The Daily Item.
Virginia and the Massachusetts-Rhode Island area have also been awarded competitive leases.
The announcement from Tuesday started a public comment period that will last 60 days and end on August 18th, ABC News reported. The time and date of the lease sale has been set by which comments will be considered before the final sale notice is published.
Patrick said Massachusetts, which doesn't have any oil or coal reserves, will benefit greatly from the use of offshore wind power.
"We sit at the end of the energy pipeline and we are held in some sense hostage to the fossil fuel rollercoaster," he said. "Offshore wind ... represents an opportunity to create our own Massachusetts-made energy."
