Located 27 miles from Corolla, Avangrid Renewables’ Kitty Hawk Offshore project is underway.  BOEM will conduct all necessary environmental and technical assessments and consultations and will decide whether to approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove the Plan.

BOEM Project Updates

Two additional proposed Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) are located off the North Carolina Coast, known as Wilmington East WEA and Wilmington West WEA.

On July 21, 2021, BOEM convened a meeting of the Carolina Long Bay Task Force to discuss the past and present of Carolina Long Bay offshore wind development and the approach for possible lease sale with federal, tribal, state, and local government officials

BOEM and the cooperating agencies are evaluating new information including new studies, newly listed species, and the designation of the North Atlantic Right Whale Critical Habitat to determine the adequacy of the previous EA and whether BOEM may need to supplement with additional analyses.

On July 7, 2021, NCDEQ hosted an informational meeting for interested stakeholders about the BOEM offshore wind leasing process and the role of the BOEM Renewable Energy Task Force in this work.  The slide deck and recording of the informational meeting are available here:

Information Briefing & Discussion Slide Deck 

NC Offshore Wind - Task Force Info Briefing Recording

North Carolina’s Coastal Management Program is federally approved; therefore a number of federal activities must undergo consistency review by the Division of Coastal Management (DCM).

This authority exists under the federal Coastal Zone Management Act. The Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) was enacted by the federal government on Oct. 27, 1972, to encourage coastal states, such as North Carolina, to develop comprehensive programs to manage and balance competing uses of and impacts to coastal resources.  Consistency review by DCM applies to any federal action that is within the state’s twenty coastal counties that may have a reasonable foreseeable effect on any coastal resource or any coastal use within the state’s coastal zone (even if the activity occurs outside of the coastal zone), if the activity:

• is a federal activity;
• requires a federal license or permit;
• receives federal money; or
• is a plan for exploration, development or production from any area leased under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

Such projects must comply with the key elements of North Carolina's Coastal Management Program, which include:

• “Review of offshore fossil fuel facilities” in the Coastal Area Management Act Rules

§ 113A-119.2. (a) and (b) and related subsections

• The state's Dredge and Fill Law
• Chapter 7 of Title 15A of N.C.'s Administrative Code, specifically the following sections in Subchapter 7H “State Guidelines for Areas of Environmental Concern
  • Section .100 – Introduction and General Comments
    • 15A NCAC 07H .0106 GENERAL DEFINITIONS (5) "Wind Energy Facility"
    • 15A NCAC 07H .0309 USE STANDARDS FOR OCEAN HAZARD AREAS: EXCEPTIONS
    •  15A NCAC 07H .0208USE STANDARDS (13) "Wind Energy Facilities"

• • Section .0400 – COASTAL ENERGY POLICIES
    • 15A NCAC 07M .0401 DECLARATION OF GENERAL POLICY
    • 15A NCAC 07M .0402 DEFINITIONS
    • 15A NCAC 07M .0403 POLICY STATEMENTS

• regulations passed by the Coastal Resources Commission (CRC);
• local land-use plans certified by the CRC; and
• a network of other state agencies’ laws and regulations.

The purpose of a consistency determination is to assure that federal projects, federal funded projects, and private projects that require federal approval are consistent with the relevant enforceable policies of the state’s certified coastal management program.

For additional information, contact Daniel Govoni, Policy Analyst/Federal Consistency Coordinator: (252) 515- 5435