US utility Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) will terminate its offshore wind lease in the Carolina Long Bay area under a settlement agreement with the US Department of the Interior (DoI) and will redirect nearly USD 129 million (EUR 113.1m) to new power generation projects, including potential natural gas and nuclear capacity, along with grid investments in the Carolinas.
Offshore foundation installation. Author: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. License: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Under the agreement, Duke will voluntarily give up the early-stage offshore wind lease and receive a partial reimbursement, with the recovered funds to be reinvested in additional generating capacity to improve reliability and support growing electricity demand in the Carolinas.
The DoI said the settlement supports the Trump administration’s policy of promoting what it describes as affordable and reliable American energy sources.
Duke acquired the Carolina Long Bay lease in an auction in 2022. The two lease areas tendered at the time attracted bids totalling about USD 315 million and were estimated to have the potential to generate gigawatt-level offshore wind capacity.
The agreement with the Charlotte, North Carolina-based utility is the latest in a series of deals struck by the Trump administration to unwind offshore wind leases.
Earlier this year, the DoI reached similar settlements with TotalEnergies, which agreed to relinquish US offshore wind leases in exchange for investing the reimbursed funds in fossil fuel production and exports.
(USD 1 = EUR 0.876)
