A Norwegian energy firm has won an auction to lease nearly 80,000 acres near Long Island for a little more than $42 million in order to produce wind power, garnering praise from local business and energy groups.

United States Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Abigail Ross Hopper said the agencies had completed the nation’s sixth competitive lease for renewable energy in federal waters.

Norway-based Statoil’s U.S. subsidiary Statoil Wind US bid roughly $42.5 million for 79,350 acres of offshore New York property to be used to develop wind energy projects.

The property, including water 65 to 131 feet deep, starts 11.5 nautical miles from Jones Beach at its westernmost point and stretches 24 nautical miles southeast.

Irene Rummelhoff, Statoil´s executive vice president for new energy solutions, said the firm is excited to have submitted the highest bid in a “highly attractive project” for its first offshore wind lease in the United States.

She said the lease could allow for more than 1 gigawatt of offshore wind, but the firm plans to start by phasing in 400-600 megawatts.

Kevin Law, CEO of the Long Island Association, welcomed the announcement that Statoil plans to proceed with a large wind power project in this area.

“Statoil is an impressive international company who I met with recently and they expressed great interest in investing in our region and helping us expand our clean energy economy,” Law said. “So their win is good news for Long Island and our renewable energy efforts.”

The New York Offshore Wind Alliance said the United States “finally joined the 14 other countries around the world already tapping into this booming industry that currently supports over 75,000 jobs.”

“The reality of offshore wind power for New York just took a giant, exciting leap forward,” Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said. “Offshore wind energy in New York is plentiful, doesn’t deplete our natural resources and produces clean power.”

The Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, Renewable Energy Long Island and the New York League of Conservation Voters all issued statements in support of the announcement.

But not everybody welcomed this wind power project and, even then, some large alternative energy projects have faced problems in the form of costs or opposition. Fishing groups in New York, New Jersey Rhode Island and Massachusetts already are seeking to block the project, according to the Associated Press.

Statoil is based in Stavanger, Norway with about 22,000 employees worldwide and is listed on the New York and Oslo stock exchanges.

Rummelhoff called the United States “a key emerging market for offshore wind” including what’s known as bottom-fixed and floating projects “with significant potential along both the East and West Coasts.”

“Statoil is well positioned to take part in what could be a significant build-out of offshore wind in New York and other states over the next decade,” she said. “This effort is in line with the company’s strategy to gradually complement our oil and gas portfolio with viable renewable energy and other low-carbon solutions.”

Secretary Jewell said “this auction underscores the growing market demand for renewable energy among our coastal communities,” as the United States attracts global companies that want to build wind energy projects.

She added that this announcement also “marks another milestone for the U.S. offshore wind energy program” and “demonstrates how our collaborative efforts with state, local and private sector partners can advance a clean energy future in the United States.”

President Barack Obama’s administration has sought to foster renewable energy projects, including offshore wind leasing and permitting.

BOEM has awarded 11 commercial wind leases, including nine through its competitive lease process, generating more than $16 million in winning bids for more than one million acres in federal waters.

“We are extremely pleased by the results of this,” BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper said of the latest deal. “We have seen robust competitive interest for this auction.”

The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission must still conduct an anti-competitiveness review of the auction and the winner must pay the winning bid and provide financial assurances of its ability to proceed.

The lease will have a preliminary one-year term, during which Statoil Wind must submit a site assessment plan to BOEM, describing facilities the firm plans to use to assess wind resources and ocean conditions in its commercial lease area.

After that plan is approved, Statoil Wind would have four and a half years to submit a construction and operations plan for a wind energy project within the lease area.

Statoil says that it in Europe is developing offshore wind projects able to provide power to more than 1 million homes with renewable energy.

The firm owns a 40 percent stake in the Sheringham Shoal wind farm in the United Kingdom, which has been producing energy since 2012.

The Dudgeon offshore wind farm, also located offshore Norfolk in the United Kingdom, and the world’s first floating offshore wind farm, known as Hywind Scotland, are slated to begin operating next year.

Statoil this year acquired a 50 percent stake in the Arkona offshore wind farm in Germany, which is slated to begin producing power in 2019.

Statoil is an international energy company primarily focused on oil and gas operations that include onshore and offshore oil and gas fields in the U.S.

The firm says its energy ventures fund, launched in February, is one of the largest clean technology venture capital funds in the world.