Overview
- The Interior Department reached the settlement Monday that reimburses Duke Energy about $129 million in exchange for voluntarily terminating its Carolina Long Bay federal lease.
- Duke said it will reinvest the funds in additional generating capacity and grid improvements in the Carolinas, naming possible investments in new nuclear and natural gas projects.
- The Carolina Long Bay site was an early-stage project located roughly 22 miles south of Bald Head Island and was expected to supply power for about 300,000 homes if built.
- The buyout is the fourth announced lease reimbursement by the administration this year and raises the total value of such deals to roughly $2.7 billion, creating planning and investment uncertainty for offshore-wind developers.
- Courts have partially restored some leasing authority after finding earlier agency pauses problematic, and states, environmental groups and attorneys general continue legal and political challenges to the buyouts.