Next month, the Biden Administration will auction off the rights to develop wind farms off our Southeastern coast.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced last week that it would open the bidding May 11 and that 16 developers had qualified to bid. The two tracts where wind energy leasing rights are being sold are about 50 miles east of Myrtle Beach and 30 miles south of Bald Head Island.

This leasing is part of the administration’s plan to spur enough offshore wind energy to produce 30 gigawatts (GW) of electricity by 2030. When fully developed, what BOEM refers to as the Carolina Long Bay tracts will produce at least 1.3 GW, enough to power nearly 500,000 homes.

“The Wilmington East lease auction brings North Carolinians one step closer to reaping the benefits of a clean energy economy,” said Montravias King, our Clean Energy Campaigns Director. “For the first time in BOEM history, whoever wins this auction will have to invest in a domestic supply chain. So this project is guaranteed to create thousands of high-paying jobs, stimulate economic development in marginalized communities most impacted by climate change, and power at least half a million North Carolina homes with emission-free energy that will never run out.”

This is huge for our state, but Congress still needs to pass major clean energy legislation to spur climate action, job creation, and justice for the most underserved communities. Tell the Senate to get a move on!