Bidders announced for offshore wind tender in North Carolina

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has qualified nine companies to bid in an auction for the rights to develop the offshore Kitty Hawk wind project in North Carolina.

US federal officials will hold a commercial wind lease sale on 16 March for the 49,540-ha Kitty Hawk project, which starts about 24 miles (38.6 km) from shore and extends 25.7 miles in a general southeast direction.

The group of qualified companies include subsidiaries of Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil, PNE Wind AG, Northland Power Inc and Enbridge Inc, as well as Wpd offshore Alpha LLC, Wind Future LLC, Outer Banks Ocean Energy LLC and Iberdrola’s Avangrid Renewables LLC.

According to sources, Interior  Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said:

“Today’s announcement demonstrates how our collaborative efforts with federal, state and local partners over the past eight years have built a foundation to harness the enormous potential of offshore wind energy,” said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. 

“The lease sale underscores the growing market demand for renewable energy and strong industry interest in meeting that demand.”

A Final Sale Notice will be published on 19 January including relevant information such as deadlines and milestones for bidders.