On April 29, 2022, BOEM published a Call for Information and Nominations (Call) for six distinct areas in the Central Atlantic comprising almost 3.9 million acres, which are shown on the map below. BOEM will consider information received to determine whether to schedule a competitive lease sale or to issue a noncompetitive lease for any portion of the areas described in the Call. Access the Call here.
Two of the potential areas are off the coast of North Carolina. Call Area D begins approximately 24 nautical miles (nmi) offshore of Virginia and North Carolina and Call Area F begins approximately 44 nmi offshore of Virginia and North Carolina.
Publication of the Call starts a 60-day public comment period, ending on June 28, 2022. BOEM requests comments regarding a number of features within and around the Call Areas. Also, interested parties may nominate one or more leasing areas during the comment period. Parties that submit nominations and the aggregated locations of nominated areas will be listed on the BOEM website after BOEM has completed review of the nominations.
Check out BOEM’s Central Atlantic page for more information on Central Atlantic activities.
Equally exciting is the upcoming May 11, 2022 auction of two leases off the North Carolina coast. BOEM published the “Atlantic Wind Lease Sale 9 (ATLW–9) for Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Carolina Long Bay Area (CLBA) - Final Sale Notice (FSN)” on March 28, 2022. Access the FSN here; check out BOEM’s Carolina Long Bay website for more information.
Lease OCS-A 0545 consists of 54,937 acres and Lease OCS-A 0546 encompasses 55,154 acres.
The FSN identified 17 qualified bidders. Potential bidders were required to submit a Bidder Financial Form (BFF) by April 11, 2022 and to submit bid deposits of $2 million to be eligible for one lease area, or $4 million to be eligible for both lease areas, by April 25, 2022. The minimum bid is set at $50.00 per lease acre.
To learn more about offshore wind development in North Carolina, visit the resources below:
BOEM – Central Atlantic Activities
BOEM- Carolina Long Bay
Wilmington East Offshore Wind Visualizations (Southeastern Wind Coalition)
BOEM – Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind Project
Kitty Hawk Offshore
Offshore Wind Energy – NC Department of Commerce
North Carolina Offshore Wind Cost-Benefit Analysis (Fact Sheet)
North Carolina Offshore Wind Cost-Benefit Analysis (Full Report)
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