The Biden administration's commitment to the development of offshore wind as an alternative energy source is bearing tangible results. In November, construction began on Vineyard Wind, the first U.S. offshore wind project of commercial industrial scale. In February, six successful bidders offered a total of $4.37 billion for wind energy leases off the coasts of New Jersey and New York. Serious studies are being made of possible offshore wind installations in the Gulf of Mexico, with South Texas and the border of Louisiana and Texas having been identified as a leading candidates by wind capacity and economic potential. In January of this year, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in the U.S. Department of the Interior announced that it is preparing a draft environmental assessment to consider potential offshore wind leasing in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico. Currently BOEM is considering approximately 30 million acres off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana for commercial development of offshore wind energy projects and has received expressions of interest from several parties.