Oct 29 (Reuters) -

President Joe Biden's administration on Tuesday will kick

off a sale of offshore wind development rights for eight areas

off the coasts of northern New England, a key test of industry

appetite for new investment after a year of high-profile

setbacks.

The auction of nearly 1 million acres (404,680 hectares) in

the Gulf of Maine is the last planned before Biden, a Democrat,

leaves office in January. Former President Donald Trump, the

Republican candidate in next week's presidential election, has

vowed to stop offshore wind projects if he defeats Democratic

Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election.

Biden has made offshore wind a cornerstone of his plan

to decarbonize the electricity grid by 2035. But soaring costs,

supply chain challenges and a construction accident have slowed

development and cast doubt on his administration's target to

install 30 gigawatts of offshore wind this decade.

The areas available for leasing in the Gulf of Maine -- off

the coasts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine -- have the

potential for enough offshore wind energy to power more than 4.5

million homes, according to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy

Management.

The U.S. Northeast is an attractive market for offshore wind

developers because many states have passed laws mandating

procurement of the resource to meet climate change goals. Maine,

for instance, has a goal to install 3 GW of offshore wind by

2040. Massachusetts is a leader in offshore wind with a target

of 5.6 GW by 2027.

Industry malaise has scuttled two offshore wind auctions

this year in the Gulf of Mexico and Oregon, regions without

offshore wind mandates.

Development in the Gulf of Maine would give a substantial

boost to the use of floating wind turbines, an emerging

technology required in the area's deep waters. By 2035, the U.S.

aims to have 15 GW of floating wind along its coastlines in

places like California, Oregon and Maine.

A small project to demonstrate the technology is in the

works off the coast of Maine.

Divisions of companies including Avangrid ( AGR ), Equinor ( EQNR )

, TotalEnergies, Repsol and

Invenergy are among the 14 developers qualified to bid in the

auction, according to a BOEM sale notice.

The auction will be held online beginning at 9:00 local time

(1300 GMT), and updates will be available on BOEM's web site.