The Outer Continental Shelf Lease Restoration Act of 2026 allows companies holding adjacent offshore wind leases to acquire nearby areas where previous wind energy leases were surrendered, paying only the original minimum bid price per acre. The bill ratifies prior environmental reviews for these specific lease areas to streamline the transfer process, while requiring that any unclaimed land be re-offered for sale within 90 days under the same terms as before. Companies that originally surrendered their leases are barred from reacquiring those specific areas, and the Secretary of the Interior is prohibited from issuing new oil or gas permits until all wind lease transfers and re-sales are completed.
The Restoring Renewable Energy Parity Act aims to reverse recent executive actions that restricted renewable energy development by directing federal agencies to stop certain investigations and cancel specific orders related to wind, solar, and geothermal projects. It mandates that the Secretary of Commerce halt a national security review of wind turbine imports and requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to remove any barriers hindering renewable energy growth. Additionally, the bill prevents federal officials from issuing new documents that mimic the cancelled restrictions and ensures that pending mitigation agreements for energy facilities are approved within 30 days. The legislation also simplifies the process for securing federal permits by allowing the use of the IPaC Portal and establishes a rule where delayed responses to financial assistance applications are automatically treated as approvals.
HR 1781 repeals four executive orders issued on January 20, 2025, which covered energy development, international environmental agreements, a declared energy emergency, and a pause on offshore wind projects. The bill would prevent federal agencies from using funds to implement these orders, effectively halting their enforcement. This directly affects agencies like the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which had been directing actions under these orders. The repeal takes effect immediately upon the bill's enactment.
HR 1462 removes tax credits for offshore wind facilities located in the inland navigable waters or coastal waters of the United States. Specifically, it disallows the investment tax credit (Section 48) and production tax credits (Sections 45 and 45Y) for such facilities placed in service after December 31, 2025. This policy change directly affects developers building wind projects in these specific waterways, as they will no longer qualify for federal tax incentives. The bill modifies existing tax code provisions without altering the broader eligibility for offshore wind projects in open ocean waters.
The Certainty for Our Energy Future Act ends tax credits for new wind and solar energy projects that begin construction after December 31, 2030, effective January 1, 2026. It also denies clean energy tax benefits to companies controlled by governments of China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea. The bill uses existing IRS guidelines to define when construction begins for projects, avoiding new bureaucratic rules. Treasury must issue implementation guidance within 180 days, with country-related restrictions taking effect 180 days after that guidance is published.
This bill requires the President to certify within 90 days that offshore wind projects in the North Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic areas won't interfere with military radar, sonar, or operations. If certification isn't possible, the President must halt projects threatening national security. It mandates a Department of Defense Inspector General study examining how wind projects affect radar/sonar systems, military training airspace, maritime navigation, and the sufficiency of current approval processes. The study must be completed within 180 days and reported to Congress, focusing on specific military capabilities like threat detection and Coast Guard operations. The bill directly affects offshore wind developers in these regions and aims to protect military readiness through regulatory review.
HR 674 prohibits new commercial offshore wind energy development in Lobster Management Area 1 (a specific fishing zone in the Gulf of Maine critical to the New England lobster and seafood industry). The bill directly affects commercial fishermen, seafood processors, and coastal communities dependent on this area’s fisheries, which support thousands of jobs and generate over $500 million annually in lobster harvest alone. Key provisions include banning new wind energy leases in the area and requiring a federal study within 120 days to evaluate how current environmental reviews for Gulf of Maine wind projects consider impacts on marine life, fishing industries, and coastal communities. The study will assess existing agency processes for reviewing wind projects, not change those processes.
HR 5639, the Co-Location Energy Act, allows the Secretary of the Interior to permit solar and wind energy development on existing federal energy leases for oil, gas, coal, or geothermal projects. It requires leaseholder consent before evaluating or issuing permits for renewable energy systems on these leased areas. The bill mandates the Secretary to determine within 180 days whether such renewable projects qualify for simplified environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act. This legislation directly affects federal leaseholders and renewable energy developers seeking to co-locate projects on currently leased federal lands.
The Offshore Energy Modernization Act of 2025 sets national offshore wind energy production goals of 30 gigawatts by 2030 and 50 gigawatts by 2035, creating a framework for developing offshore renewable energy projects on the outer Continental Shelf. Key provisions require offshore wind developers to meet domestic content requirements (65% U.S.-made components by 2033), establish project labor agreements for construction, and contribute to an Offshore Renewable Energy Compensation Fund that provides payments to affected communities like commercial fishing interests and Tribal groups. The bill establishes an Offshore Power Administration within the Department of Energy to coordinate transmission infrastructure development and requires more efficient environmental reviews while ensuring meaningful Tribal consultation for projects.
HR 2187 amends U.S. tax law to disallow key federal tax credits for offshore wind facilities located in inland navigable waters or coastal waters of the United States. Specifically, it removes eligibility for the investment tax credit (Section 48), production tax credit (Section 45), and clean electricity production tax credit (Section 45Y) for projects in these water areas. The bill defines "disqualified offshore wind facilities" as those situated in the specified waters, preventing them from qualifying for these financial incentives. This change applies to energy produced and property placed in service after December 31, 2025, directly affecting developers planning offshore wind projects in U.S. coastal or inland waterways.
