Trump adds Duke Energy to offshore wind buyout campaign

The US Department of the Interior has announced another settlement to terminate an offshore wind lease, this time with North Carolina-based Duke Energy.

Under the deal, Duke will voluntarily terminate its offshore wind lease in the Carolina Long Bay area, valued at $129m, and reinvest that amount in additional generating capacity. That could include advancing new nuclear and natural gas generation, as well as grid enhancements to strengthen reliability in the Carolinas.

The Carolina Long Bay project was planned south of Bald Head Island in Brunswick County and was expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 300,000 homes. The Interior said the settlement provides partial reimbursement for a lease in its very early stage, and that the funds would be redeployed to "meet America's energy demands today and tomorrow".

Duke has previously said offshore wind is not currently the most reliable or cost-effective energy source and that it would not issue requests for proposals for such projects, citing rising costs, lengthy development timelines and rapidly growing electricity demand.

"Duke Energy will now be able to convert a national security concern into projects that will lower the costs for its customers in North Carolina and surrounding states. The agreement is a win-win scenario that has become a hallmark for how the Trump administration operates," said secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.

Before the Duke deal, the administration had spent over $2.6bn to halt eight offshore wind projects through similar agreements. The Interior previously bought out TotalEnergies for nearly $1bn; Golden State Wind and Bluepoint Wind agreed to end their leases in exchange for around $900m; and Invenergy terminated four leases in the New York Bight, California and the Gulf of Maine for $765m. California, meanwhile, is preparing to sue the Trump administration over the federal buyback of offshore wind leases.