The NOW Act removes restrictions that currently tie offshore wind development to oil and gas leasing. Right now, under rules created by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the Department of the Interior can only approve new offshore wind leases if two things happened in the previous year: an offshore oil and gas lease sale was held, and a minimum amount of acreage was offered for oil and gas leasing. This bill eliminates both of those requirements.

In practical terms, this means the government could approve offshore wind projects without having to conduct oil and gas lease sales first. Currently, if no oil and gas leasing happened in the previous year, the Interior Department's hands are tied—they cannot issue wind leases even if they wanted to. This bill removes that connection, allowing wind energy development to move forward independently. For renewable energy advocates, this could speed up the transition to clean energy by decoupling it from fossil fuel leasing. For those concerned about oil and gas development, this removes a requirement that was meant to balance renewable energy expansion with continued fossil fuel opportunities.

NOW Act

Nonrestrictive Offshore Wind Act or the NOW ActThis bill repeals certain requirements that the Department of the Interior must meet before issuing a lease for offshore wind development. Under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Interior may not issue a lease unless (1) an offshore oil and gas lease sale has been held in the year prior to issuing the lease, and (2) Interior offers a specified minimum acreage for offshore lease sales in the previous year. The bill repeals those requirements.