Carolina Long Bay offshore wind lease sale announced

The Interior Department announced Thursday a proposed lease sale for offshore wind development off North Carolina and South Carolina.

The proposed Carolina Long Bay lease area consists of about 128,000 acres and includes most of the Wilmington East Wind Energy Area, which officials said has the potential to generate enough electricity to power more than 500,000 homes.

The Bureau of Offshore Energy Management seeks public input on potentially dividing the proposed lease area into as many as three lease areas.

BOEM is set to publish a Proposed Sale Notice in the Federal Register on Monday, which will kick off a 60-day comment period ending at 11:59 p.m. Jan. 3, 2022.

Comments can be submitted following ways:

• Through Regulations.gov — search for Docket No. BOEM-2021-0078. Click on the blue “Comment” button in the upper left-hand corner of the page. Enter your information and comment, then click “Submit Comment.”
   
• In written form, delivered by hand or by mail, enclosed in an envelope labeled “Comments on Carolina Long Bay PSN” to: Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 45600 Woodland Road, VAM-OREP, Sterling, VA 20166.

BOEM does not consider anonymous comments. Include your name and address as part of your submittal. All comments submitted will be made part of the public record and will be posted publicly without change. Comments must be sent by or postmarked no later than 11:59 p.m. Dec. 28.

More information about the PSN, as well as information on the auction seminar and how to submit comments will be published on BOEM’s Carolina Long Bay website.