Carolina Long Bay

Map of the Carolina Long Bay lease areas wMap of the Carolina Long Bay lease areas with the names of the provisional winners and their total high bids: OCS-A 0545 TotalEnergies Renewables USA, LLC $160M and OCS-A 0546 Duke Energy Renewables Wind, LLC $155M

On May 11, 2022, BOEM held an offshore wind auction for two lease areas in the Carolina Long Bay. The lease sale drew competitive winning bids from two companies totaling approximately $315 million.

Public Engagement

BOEM coordinates Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) renewable energy activities offshore North Carolina and South Carolina through its Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force, which is made up of representatives from federal, state, local and tribal governments. BOEM also coordinates public information meetings to help keep interested stakeholders updated on renewable energy milestones occurring offshore North Carolina and South Carolina. To obtain information discussed during these meetings click on the links below.

Related Press Releases

For a detailed history of leasing activities and environmental review related to Carolina Long Bay, please visit: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/north-carolina-activities.

Lease Reassignment

On April 26, 2023, BOEM received a request from Duke Energy Renewables Wind, LLC to assign lease OCS-A 0546 to Cinergy Corp. On July 12, 2023, BOEM approved assignment of lease OCS-A 0546 to Cinergy Corp.

Proposed Sale Notice

On October 28, 2021, the Department of the Interior announced a proposed lease sale for offshore wind development for an area in the Carolina Long Bay area offshore North Carolina and South Carolina. Materials related to this announcement are below.

Final Sale Notice

On March 25, 2022, the Department of the Interior announced that it has completed its environmental review and will hold a wind energy auction for two lease areas on May 11, 2022. The lease areas include 110,091 acres in the Carolina Long Bay area offshore North Carolina 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.  Materials related to this announcement are below.

Planning & Analysis

On August 13, 2021, BOEM issued a Note to Stakeholders on the Draft Supplement Environmental Assessment for Carolina Long Bay. 

The Regional Carolina Long Bay Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting took place virtually on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. The meeting outlined the basic principles and major decision points BOEM is considering for offshore renewable energy leasing in the Carolina Long Bay area. BOEM also updated task force members on recent planning activities.  

BOEM published the Commercial Wind Lease Issuance and Site Assessment Activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Offshore North Carolina - Revised Environmental Assessment (EA) in 2015. 

During the previous NEPA analysis, consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act was covered by a biological opinion (BO) which was issued in 2013 and valid until 2020. The BO considered site characterization and site assessment activities that may occur as a result of: 

  • BOEM’s own planning analysis; 
  • Unsolicited lease application to actualize plans for a renewable energy facility; 
  • Request for approval of a Site Assessment Plan to construct a meteorological tower or install meteorological buoys; 
  • Request for approval of a Construction and Operations Plan; 
  • Request for approval of a General Activities Plan

In December 2021, BOEM released the draft SEA which considered new information relevant to environmental considerations that were not available when BOEM originally published the Commercial Wind Lease Issuance and Site Assessment Activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Offshore North Carolina - Revised Environmental Assessment in 2015.

Specifically, BOEM was proposing a lease sale for the Wilmington East Wind Energy Area (WEA), located in the Carolina Long Bay Area offshore North Carolina. The area proposed for the lease sale consists of approximately 127,865 acres and includes the majority of the Wilmington East WEA, which has the potential to unlock over 1.5 GW of offshore wind energy and power more than 500,000 homes.

BOEM’s SEA assessed the potential impacts from the issuance of commercial leases within the Wilmington East WEA. Potential impacts include those that could occur from site characterization activities (i.e., shallow hazards, geological, geotechnical, archeological, and biological surveys of the lease area and potential cable routes) and site assessment activities (i.e., installation and operation of meteorological buoys) associated with issuing wind energy leases in the WEA.

BOEM hosted two virtual public meetings to provide an overview of the draft SEA and to obtain public input. The meetings were held on:

For more information, please see: North Carolina Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment Virtual Meeting Room

Commercial Wind Lease Issuance and Site Assessment Activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Offshore North Carolina - Final Supplemental Environmental Assessment (March 25, 2022)

As required by the Carolina Long Bay leases, each Carolina Long Bay Lessee is required to develop publicly available communication plans and to submit progress reports to BOEM every six months until approval of a Construction and Operations Plan. 

Progress Reports 

The purpose of the progress reports is to improve communication and transparency and to encourage Lessees to identify and engage with underserved communities, including environmental justice communities that may be disproportionately impacted by a proposed project. The progress reports are available below. If you have any questions, please contact the Lessee and the BOEM project coordinator. 

Communication Plans 

The purpose of the communication plans is to ensure early and active information sharing, focus discussion on potential issues, and collaboratively identify solutions—all to promote the sustainable development of offshore wind energy projects by avoiding, minimizing, mitigating, and/or redressing any adverse effects. 

The Native American Tribes, Fisheries, and Agency Communication Plans may be updated and refined over time and are available upon request from the Lessee points of contact listed above.   

Native American Tribes Communication Plan 

The Native American Tribes Communication Plan describes the strategies that the Lessee intends to use for communicating with federally recognized Tribes and outlines methods for engaging with and disseminating information to federally recognized Tribes with cultural and/or historical ties to the lease area. For Carolina Long Bay, both Lessees have developed a single, joint Native American Tribes Communication Plan. 

Fisheries Communication Plans 

The Fisheries Communications Plan includes a description of the strategies that the Lessee intends to use for communicating with commercial and recreational fisheries prior to and during activities in support of the submission of a plan, such as a Site Assessment Plan or Construction and Operations Plan. The plan includes information on the distribution of “Notice to Mariners” and other outreach and coordination. Additionally, the plan includes the Lessee’s Fisheries Liaison as a primary point of contact and a process to file complaints with the Lessee and seek replacement of or compensation for lost gear. 

Agency Communication Plans 

The Agency Communication Plan describes the strategies that the Lessee intends to use for communicating with federal, state, and local agencies with authority related to the lease area. The plan outlines specific methods for engaging with and disseminating information related to permits and trust resources to these agencies.