The Biden administration's sale of offshore wind development rights off the coast of California resulted in a high bid of $757.1 million, mainly from European developers seeking a foothold in the domestic industry's expansion to the Pacific Ocean.
The winners of the five leases were mainly divisions of European energy companies that are already developing projects in the U.S. offshore wind market.
Norway's Equinor ASA, Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Germany's RWE AG, Ocean Winds, a joint venture between France and Portugal's EDP Renewables and the U.S. developer Invenergy LLC were among the winners.
The auction, which began on Tuesday and continued into Wednesday, is part of the administration's plan to put wind turbines along every U.S. coastline to tackle climate change and create jobs.