The US is advancing plans to hold an auction for offshore wind leases along the coast of North Carolina.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management expects to issue a proposed sale notice this summer. It will be the last chance for developers interested in acquiring a lease to submit qualifications.
Five developers responded to a 2012 call for interest: Dominion Virginia Power, EDF, Fishermen’s Energy, Green Sail Energy and Outer Banks Ocean Energy.
BOEM will hold a North Carolina renewable energy task force meeting 19 April to discuss the auction. At least 60 days after the PSN, the agency will issue a ‘final sale notice’ outlining sale dates and details.
More than 300,000 acres could be put on the block. The lease areas comprise Kitty Hawk (about 122,405 acres), Wilmington West (51,595 acres) and Wilmington East (133,590 acres).
Image: offshore wind projects could be soon be located off the North Carolina coast (reNEWS)
