Dec 20 (Reuters) - The Biden administration approved its eleventh large-scale offshore wind farm on Friday, a project backed by European energy companies EDP Renewables (EDPR.LS) , opens new tab and ENGIE (ENGIE.PA) , opens new tab, as it seeks to cement its legacy in the formation of a new domestic energy industry.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The approval of Ocean Winds' SouthCoast Wind comes a month before Biden's successor, President-elect Donald Trump, takes office. Trump, a Republican, during his campaign for the presidency pledged to stop the offshore wind industry's progress.

Ocean Winds is a joint venture between Portugal's EDPR and France's ENGIE.

KEY QUOTE

"When we walked in the door of this Administration, there were zero approved, commercial-scale offshore wind projects in federal waters. Today, I am proud to celebrate our 11th approval, a testament to the commitment and enduring progress made by the hardworking public servants at the Department of the Interior," Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.

CONTEXT

Despite the ambitious goals set by Biden's administration, the offshore wind industry has been struggling with soaring costs, supply chain challenges and a construction accident at the nation's first commercial-scale project. This new approval comes amid concerns that the industry may not hit its targets, which could leave a gap in renewable energy production.

BY THE NUMBERS

SouthCoast Wind is expected to generate up to 2.4 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, enough to power more than 840,000 homes. The project area covers about 127,388 acres and is located about 20 nautical miles south of the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

The project will have 141 turbines and up to five offshore substation platforms. It aims to start construction next year and deliver power to New England by the end of this decade, according to the project website.

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https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/us-approves-major-massachusetts-offshore-wind-farm-2024-12-20/