Offshore

Survey work begins for pair of proposed wind farms offshore North Carolina

Survey work begins for pair of proposed wind farms offshore North Carolina

The first survey work has begun for two proposed wind farms south of Bald Head Island, North Carolina, as a research vessel began mapping the seafloor to identify potential locations for buoys that will monitor wind speeds and wildlife in the area, including whales, fish, and birds.

TotalEnergies Renewables USA and Cinergy Corp, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, spent $315 million to lease 140 miles of the ocean to build the wind farms. Since both companies leased parts of the ocean adjacent to each other for their respective wind farm, they decided to work together to survey and plan the construction to reduce costs.

The proposed site for two offshore wind projects south of Bald Head Island, North Carolina (Courtesy: TotalEnergies)

The buoys will likely be deployed next year, a spokesperson for TotalEnergies said, as the surveying is part of the “very early stages” of the project.

Another offshore wind project is currently planned 27 miles from Kitty Hawk in the Outer Banks, the Star News reported, but the future of offshore wind in the Outer Banks is hazy. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management recently rejected two proposed offshore wind farms near the Outer Banks after the Pentagon said the projects could interfere with military aviation training.

The offshore wind industry has been grappling with uncertainties recently, with multiple power purchase agreements (PPAs) coming to an end, and developers and utilities backing out of projects. Rhode Island Energy recently pulled out of its PPA with Ørsted and Eversource for the Revolution Wind 2 offshore project, citing higher interest rates, increased expenses, and questionable federal tax credits, concluding that the project had become uneconomical. Avangrid requested to terminate the PPA signed with Eversource Energy, National Grid, and Uniti for the Commonwealth Wind offshore farm last year, and Shell and Ocean Winds North America have decided to attempt to terminate the PPA for the SouthCoast Wind offshore wind project.