Danish wind giant Ørsted is moving into a bigger office in Providence to expand a workforce that is expected to double in size.

The federal government says it will hold Oregon’s first-ever offshore wind energy lease sale in mid-October to auction two areas where developers can build floating wind turbines.

Fiishing interests, Native American tribes, local coastal governments and some conservationists have pushed to slow or end the offshore wind power lease process.

For the first time ever, two wind energy projects will be up for auction off the Oregon coast, the Department of Interior announced Thursday.

BOEM will auction two wind lease areas off the coast of Oregon on October 15, opening the door for up to 3.1 GW of development.

The federal government has issued the nation’s first floating offshore wind research lease to the state of Maine, comprising about 23 square miles in federal waters.

The Biden administration will seek bids on developing two wind energy sites off Oregon’s southern coast in October. The announcement on Thursday followed an environmental assessment of the sites off Coos Bay and Brookings by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

State leaders are urging the Biden administration to listen to the concerns of fishermen and environmentalists.