The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will hold a wind-energy auction May 11 for two lease areas off the shore of the Carolinas May 11.
The lease areas include 110,091 acres in the Carolina Long Bay area off the shore of North and South Carolina. If developed, they could result in at least 1.3 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, enough to power nearly 500,000 homes, a March 25 U.S. Department of the Interior news release said.
“The Biden-Harris administration is committed to supporting a robust clean energy economy, and the upcoming Carolina Long Bay offshore wind energy auction provides yet another excellent opportunity to strengthen the clean energy industry while creating good-paying union jobs,” Secretary Deb Haaland said. “This is an historic time for domestic offshore wind energy development. We will continue using every tool in our toolbox to tackle the climate crisis, reduce our emissions to reach the president’s bold goals and advance environmental justice.”
“BOEM is focused on ensuring that any development offshore North Carolina is done responsibly, in a way that avoids or minimizes potential impacts to the ocean and ocean users in the region,” said Director Amanda Lefton. “The milestones announced today mark significant progress in achieving this administration’s goal for deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, while creating jobs and strengthening a sustainable domestic supply chain.”
This is not the only wind energy project that has made progress this year. In February, the South Fork project broke ground off of New York and Rhode Island, according to the news release.
