Bureau of Ocean Management NC Activities

https://www.boem.gov/North-Carolina/

North Carolina Activities

Kitty Hawk
What's New?

On March 16, 2017, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Acting Director Walter Cruickshank announced the completion of the nation’s seventh competitive lease sale for renewable wind energy in federal waters. A Wind Energy Area of 122,405 acres offshore Kitty Hawk, North Carolina received the high bid of $9,066,650 from Avangrid Renewables, LLC, the provisional winner. To read more, click here.

A summary of bidding results can be found here.

Overview

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act requires BOEM to award renewable energy leases competitively, unless BOEM determines there is no competitive interest. So, on Dec. 13, 2012, BOEM published a Call for Information and Nominations (or “Call”) in the Federal Register (under Docket ID: BOEM-2012-0088) for a 45-day public comments period to gauge the offshore wind industry's interest in acquiring commercial wind leases in three areas offshore North Carolina and to request comments regarding site conditions, resources and other uses within the Call areas. On Feb. 5, 2013, BOEM reopened the comment period for the Call to allow for additional public input. The comment period for the North Carolina Call for Information and Nominations (DOCKET ID: BOEM-2012-0088) closed on March 7, 2013. Materials related to the Call are below.

The North Carolina Call for Information and Nominations (Dec. 13, 2012)
Re-opening of the North Carolina Call for Information and Nominations Comment Period (Feb. 5, 2013)
Map of the North Carolina Call Areas
Additional Map Information for North Carolina Call Area
Expressions of Interest in Response to the North Carolina Call for Information and Nominations
Comments Submitted in Response to the North Carolina Call for Information and Nominations
Environmental Review

In addition to the Call, BOEM published in the Federal Register a “Notice of Intent (NOI) to Prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA)” on Dec. 13, 2012 (under Docket ID: BOEM-2012-0090). BOEM extended the public comment period until Mar. 7, 2013. The EA will consider potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts associated with issuing commercial wind leases and approving site assessment activities on the lease areas.

Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment (Dec. 13, 2012)
Public Comments Responding to NOI (March 2013)
On January 23, 2015, BOEM published the EA for public review and comment. BOEM carefully considered all comments received and, on September 17, 2015, made available a revised EA for the WEAs offshore North Carolina. As a result of the analysis in the revised EA, BOEM issued a "Finding of No Significant Impact" (FONSI), which concluded that reasonably foreseeable environmental effects associated with the commercial wind lease issuance and related activities would not significantly impact the environment. For more information, click on the links below:

Notice of Availability (Sep. 18, 2015)
Revised EA and Finding of No Significant Impact
Visual Assessment - Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM): Commercial Wind Leasing and Site Assessment Activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Offshore North Carolina (Appendix F)
Time Lapse Visual Simulation – Sunset Beach Pier
Simulations of Potential Visual Impacts

BOEM partnered with the National Park Service to create state of the art visual simulations of a wind energy facility offshore North Carolina. BOEM held Visual Simulation Open Houses in North Carolina to provide an opportunity to review the results of the Offshore Wind Visualization Study, which focused on locations within the Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores. The photo simulations, videos, and additional information on the study can be found here.

Wind Energy Area Identification

On Aug. 11, 2014, BOEM announced that it has identified three WEAs offshore North Carolina:

The Kitty Hawk WEA begins about 24 nm from shore and extends approximately 25.7 nm in a general southeast direction. Its seaward extent ranges from 13.5 nm in the north to .6 nm in the south. It contains approximately 21.5 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) blocks (122,405 acres).
The Wilmington West WEA begins about 10 nm from shore and extends approximately 12.3 nm in an east-west direction at its widest point. It contains just over 9 OCS blocks (approximately 51,595 acres).
The Wilmington East WEA begins about 15 nm from Bald Head Island at its closest point and extends approximately 18 nm in the southeast direction at its widest point. It contains approximately 25 OCS blocks (133,590 acres).
For additional information about the WEAs offshore North Carolina, click on the link below.

Announcement of Area Identification – Commercial Wind Energy Leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore North Carolina