Hecate launches unsolicited bid for Gulf of Mexico offshore wind area

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will probe the interest for a competitive lease sale off Texas, in the Gulf of Mexico, after receiving an unsolicited lease request from Chicago-based renewables developer Hecate Energy on Friday.

The Department of Interior agency said that Hecate Energy has approached it with a request to acquire commercial wind energy leases on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Gulf of Mexico. The unsolicited bid concerns acreage off the coast of southeast Texas covering 142,352 acres. The sites in question were identified by BOEM in 2021 as potential Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) suitable for offshore wind leasing.

Specifically, WEA Option C has a size of 74,113 acres, and WEA Option D spans 68,239 acres.

BOEM said it is issuing a Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI) to gain information on whether competitive interest exists in the areas included in Hecate Energy’s request. The collected input will be used to further identify and refine the areas. Provided that at least one additional bid is made for the areas, a competitive lease sale process could begin. Otherwise, BOEM may issue the noncompetitive lease to Hecate, it said.

The areas related to the RFCI differ from the proposed zones for a second offshore wind auction in the Gulf of Mexico, plans for which were announced in March. As only one company has expressed interest in taking part in the sale, the plan has been cancelled.

BOEM held the first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico last year. The competition was won by RWE Offshore US Gulf LLC, which was awarded the 102,480-acre Lake Charles Lease Area off Louisiana.

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