White House announces first offshore wind lease sale in Gulf of Mexico

The White House announced early Thursday the United States' first offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, part of the Biden administration’ goal to create 30 gigawatts of offshore wind projects by 2030.

The White House also hailed the effort as part of "Bidenomics," which include effort to transition the country to more green energy and providing more offshore wind jobs across the country. 

The Interior Department is expected to issue the final notice of sale later Thursday, and the is set to get underway toward the end of next month.

Overall, the project will involve leasing 102,480 acres offshore of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and nearly 200,000 more acres near Galveston, Texas.

Environmentalist and scientists have raised concerns about a possible link between wind turbines and the death of whales. A lead scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned last year that "additional noise, vessel traffic, and habitat modifications due to offshore wind development" could harm right whales in particular, who are reportedly already nearing extinction.

The Energy Department recently said there is "no evidence" to substantiate such alleged connections,

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