Trump Administration Reaches Fourth Offshore Wind Lease Buyout Deal, Duke Energy Exits Carolina Long Bay Site

The US Department of the Interior (DOI) has reached a settlement agreement with Duke Energy under which the utility will voluntarily terminate its offshore wind lease in the Carolina Long Bay area and reinvest USD 129 million (around EUR 113 million) in alternative power generation and grid infrastructure projects in the Carolinas.  

Duke Energy’s offshore wind lease area, designated OCS-A 0546, is one of the two areas the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) auctioned in Carolina Long Bay in 2022. The other lease, OCS-A 0545, was awarded to TotalEnergies, which agreed to cancel its project earlier this year under an agreement with the federal government.

The two adjacent sites are located in the Wilmington East Wind Energy Area (WEA) offshore North Carolina.

The US government’s agreement with Duke Energy marks the fourth offshore wind lease buyout deal, the first being the TotalEnergies settlement in March that seeks to cancel its Carolina Long Bay and New York Bight offshore wind projects in return for a reimbursement of USD 928 million (around EUR 814 million).

In April, the DOI entered a similar deal with Ocean Winds-led joint ventures, Bluepoint Wind and Golden State Wind, which agreed to voluntarily terminate their offshore wind leases in exchange for a total of USD 885 million (around EUR 776 million) in refunded lease fees.

Earlier this month, the DOI reached an agreement with Invenergy under which the developer will relinquish four offshore wind leases in exchange for a USD 765 million (approximately EUR 670 million) reimbursement.

There are also reports that RWE is discussing a similar deal with the US government, which prompted more than 50 US organisations to urge the company to abandon the reported negotiations this May.

Under its settlement with the federal government, Duke Energy agreed to receive reimbursement of USD 129 million for the lease and to invest an equivalent amount “in additional generating capacity to better serve its customers in the Carolinas.”

“Under the agreement, Duke Energy will reinvest nearly $129 million in additional generating capacity, which may include advancing new nuclear and natural gas generation, and grid enhancements to strengthen reliability, support continued growth in the Carolinas and keep costs as low as possible”, said Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Duke Energy Carolinas.

With the Duke Energy agreement, the total value of offshore wind lease buyout agreements announced by the Trump Administration this year is around USD 2.7 billion (around EUR 2.4 billion).

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