This proposed auction aligns with President Joe Biden's broader strategy to accelerate the expansion of offshore wind energy as part of the efforts to address climate change.

Through its subsidiaries Shell Wind Energy and Savion Equity, Shell is selling a 50% stake in the 180 MW Madison Fields solar PV park in Ohio and a 60% stake in the 182 MW Brazos wind farm in Texas.

The planned auction will encompass approximately 860 square kilometers of surface area across the five offshore wind power sites, with a calculated maximum capacity of around 7,500 megawatts.

The offshore construction team utilized Van Oord’s offshore installation vessel, the Aeolus, to hoist the initial Siemens Gamesa wind turbine generator into position at the project site located 35 miles off Montauk, N.Y.

This move comes as a response to challenges faced by European energy companies, which collectively incurred $5 billion in writedowns on incomplete U.S. offshore wind projects.

The company has made the difficult decision to discontinue work on its U.S. offshore wind projects Ocean Wind 1 and 2.

This development comes as the industry grapples with mounting challenges due to escalating costs.

The developers of offshore wind projects have been grappling with rising costs of raw materials and components, along with higher borrowing costs, raising concerns about the viability of several projects planned for New York's coastal waters.

The cable-laying process will start with array cable lines five and six and is expected to continue until early October.

These project developers, along with trade groups representing the offshore wind sector, are urging officials to modify the requirements, warning of potential job losses and lost investments if the changes aren't made.