TotalEnergies, Duke Winners Of U.S. Offshore Wind Energy Auction

The Department of the Interior has announced results from its wind energy auction in the Carolina Long Bay area, the second major offshore wind lease sale this year.

According to a statement by the Interior, this is a significant milestone towards achieving the Biden administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.

“The Biden-Harris administration is moving forward at the pace and scale required to help achieve the President’s goals to make offshore wind energy a reality for the United States,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “Together with an all-of-government approach, we can combat the effects of climate change while creating good-paying union jobs that can benefit underserved communities. Today’s lease sale is further proof that there is strong industry interest and that America’s clean energy transition is here.”

President Biden has previously announced the first-ever national offshore wind energy goal which created a clear vision for the future of this innovative industry. This goal is reinforced by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which will make historic investments to build a better America with clean energy, resilient infrastructure, and strong domestic manufacturing and supply chains.

As for the sale, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) offered two lease areas covering 110,091 acres in the Carolina Long Bay area offshore North Carolina and South Carolina. If fully developed, the leases could result in about 1.3 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, enough to power about 500,000 homes. Today’s sale drew competitive winning bids from two companies totaling $315 million.

Namely, TotalEnergies had the winning bid for a 54,937-acre area of $160,000,000. The other winning bid was for the 55,154-acre area. It was won by Duke Energy which offered $155,000,000 for it.

The Carolina Long Bay offshore wind auction included a new 20 percent credit for bidders that committed to a monetary contribution to programs or initiatives that support workforce training programs for the offshore wind industry, the development of a U.S. domestic supply chain for the offshore wind energy industry, or both. This credit will result in $42 million for these critical programs or initiatives.

“This auction puts real dollars on the table to support economic growth from offshore wind energy development – including the jobs that come with it,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton. “The new bidding credit in the Carolina Long Bay auction will result in tangible investments for workforce training and businesses in the United States, to ultimately create jobs in the U.S. across the industries needed to support achieving our offshore wind goals.”

Before the leases are finalized, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission will conduct an anti-competitiveness review of the auction, and the provisional winners will be required to pay any balance on the winning bids and provide financial assurance to BOEM.

To contact the author, email bojan.lepic@rigzone.com