The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will open the lease sale for two offshore wind areas in Carolina Long Bay in about one hour, as of when up to 16 prequalified bidders will compete for lease rights for the blocks OCS-A 0545 and OCS-A 0546.
The area being auctioned today is the Wilmington East Lease Area, offshore North Carolina and South Carolina, which covers 110,091 acres in the Carolina Long Bay and could accommodate at least 1.3 GW of installed offshore wind capacity.
The offshore wind auction, which will allow offshore wind developers to bid on one or both blocks, includes several stipulations designed to promote the development of a robust domestic US supply chain, advance flexibility in transmission planning, and encourage project labor agreements, DOI said.
Among the stipulations, BOEM will offer a 20 per cent credit to bidders if they commit to invest in programmes that will advance US offshore wind energy workforce training or supply chain development.
The agency has prequalified 16 developers for the Carolina Long Bay auction:
The Wilmington East Wind Energy Area begins about 15 nautical miles (approximately 28 kilometres) from Bald Head Island at its closest point and extends approximately 18 nautical miles (approx. 33 kilometres) in the southeast direction at its widest point.
The two lease blocks within the area have similar acreage, distance to shore, and wind resource potential, according to BOEM.