President Biden is currently dangling a tantalizing clean energy opportunity in front of the Gulf Coast, one that seems tailor-made for Texas to seize. Last month, he announced that 700,000 acres of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico should soon be available to lease for offshore wind development. With Louisiana already gunning for the leases, it’s unclear how much enthusiasm Texas officials have for the opportunity, or whether these projects would connect to ERCOT versus the larger electric grid serving the eastern United States.
At public meetings this week organized by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which is overseeing the process, the region’s climate advocates welcomed the news. Another group that’s lobbying hard for these leases is the AFL-CIO, the country’s largest federation of labor unions.
“We’re perfectly situated to take advantage of this opportunity, but we have to do it right,” said Rick Levy, president of the AFL-CIO’s Texas branch.
