State sets public meeting, invites comment on wind energy leases
State officials will participate in a federal public meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 21, in Nags Head to accept comments from the public and answer questions about a proposed wind energy lease sale along the North Carolina coast.
The meeting will be from 5 to 8 p.m. at Jennette’s Pier, 7223 South Virginia Dare Trail in Nags Head. The U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is hosting the meeting.
The federal agency is proposing to issue wind energy leases within an area offshore of Kitty Hawk. The leases would allow site assessment activities that would determine whether the areas are suitable for, and would support, commercial-scale wind energy production. Site assessment activities would be conducted between 2017 and 2022.
While a state public meeting is not required, the state’s coastal agency is also evaluating whether the proposed federal action is consistent with the enforceable policies of the state’s Coastal Management Program. To assist in this evaluation, state officials are inviting the public to offer comments on the consistency of the proposed project with the state’s enforceable policies at this federal meeting.
Please submit written comments by Sept. 27, 2016 to Daniel Govoni, Policy Analyst, 400 Commerce Avenue, Morehead City, N.C. 28557, or by email to Daniel.Govoni@ncdenr.gov, or in person at the meeting on Sept. 21. Comments will be considered in developing the state’s consistency response.
