Abby Hopper, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, says public interest in oil and gas leases in North Carolina is second behind only Alaska.
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John Downey
Senior Staff Writer- Charlotte Business Journal
As many as three offshore wind-power lease sites will be approved for North Carolina next year, Abby Hopper, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, told a conference in Raleigh on Tuesday.
But she says most of the offshore interest in North Carolina has been generated by the possibility of an offshore oil and gas lease by 2021.
“North Carolina is coming second behind Alaska in public-interest leases,” she says.
Hopper was the keynote speaker for the 2015 State Energy Conference hosted by N.C. State University and its N.C. Clean Energy Center at the McKimmon Center. In her address and in an interview afterward, she talked about offshore development for the United States and brought it down to development in North Carolina.
Public opposition
She noted her agency has proposed a 50-mile limit for how close oil and gas leases could be to the shore along the East Coast. That has been controversial, with some finding it to close and some industry representatives saying that limit would be too restrictive.
On oil and gas, Hopper says, the response at public hearings in North Carolina has largely been against development of offshore leases.
Some local governments have also asked the bureau not to consider leases near their communities.
But she says many communities have supported leases for the economic development they may bring. And she noted the state — and N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory, in particular — strongly supports leasing and oil and gas exploration off the coast.
Wind projects
Offshore wind leases, which are likely to happen much earlier, have attracted less attention, she says. And again, the response in the state is divided.
Wind leases have generated opposition from people worried about the impact on the environment. And another concern has been the impact on aesthetics and the popularity of tourism on the coast.
Still, she says North Carolina is well down the road on the leasing process. Three sites are under consideration: a 122,405-acre site 27 miles off the coast near Kill Devil Hills and Manteo, a 51,595-acre site 10 miles from Oak Island and a 133,590-acre site 15 miles from Bald Head Island.
North Carolina can expect decisions on all three next year, she says.
South Carolina prod
But wind energy could take longer to develop after leasing than oil and gas drilling. North Carolina may get a prod on wind soon from South Carolina, says Brian O’Hara, president of the Southeastern Wind Association.
O’Hara was headed to Columbia, S.C., on Tuesday to testify at a subcommittee hearing at the S.C. House of Representatives on a proposal to let investor-owned utilities participate in offshore wind projects, including a demonstrator project in the state.
The state-owned utility, Santee Cooper, has been pushing for a demonstrator project. It can proceed without the proposed legislation because it is not an investor-owned utility. But O’Hara says the legislation would allow those utilities in South Carolina — Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Progress and S.C. Electric Gas — to participate with Santee Cooper.
Southern sites
The bill also would allow South Carolina to cooperate with neighboring states on a demonstrator project.
“Georgia has already expressed some interest in being involved,” O’Hara says. “I hope that, if the legislation passes, it will provoke a similar response from North Carolina. “
Hopper said after her speech that the leases proposed in North Carolina are not directly related to the effort in South Carolina. But she noted the two smaller lease sites on the southern end of North Carolina could be a good choice for a demonstrator involving South Carolina. While they are farther off the South Carolina shore than the N.C. shore, they are both nearly due east off Myrtle Beach.
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John Downey covers the energy industry and public companies for the Charlotte Business Journal.
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