Posted on August 17, 2021
(Bureau of Ocean Energy Management)
At the end of July, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced that it will conduct an environmental review of a wind farm proposed for the waters off of Kitty Hawk. The 30-day public comment period connected to that review began on Aug. 1.
Avangrid — which won the bidding rights to be the lease holder for the Kitty Hawk Wind Energy Area (WEA) in 2017, said that when completed, the project (122,000-acre site) will produce enough “clean energy” to power 700,000 homes — although it will be several years before construction can begin.
On Aug 13, BOEM announced that it is also preparing a “supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA)” in advance of a decision whether to hold a similar lease sale for the Wilmington East WEA (134,000 acres) located in the waters off North and South Carolina.
While the Kitty Hawk and Wilmington WEAs were identified by BOEM in 2014, the Kitty Hawk project has moved at a faster pace.
To that end, BOEM is seeking input on additional information, issues and alternatives to be considered in the supplemental EA. The comment period for the Wilmington Project will be open for 30 days, beginning on August 13, and ending on September 12.
