The Kitty Hawk Project is a large-scale offshore wind project in North Carolina. One of the largest developers in the world, Iberdrola, owns the project via its subsidiary, Avangrid Renewables.
Project Details
Avangrid Renewables will construct the wind farm beginning in 2024. The developer will establish the first phase of the project with 69 turbines. For the first phase, the developer will install 800 megawatts of capacity.
The complete project can power up to 700,000 households.
Executive Order 218
Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina laid the blueprint for the state’s offshore wind industry until 2040.
EO 218 establishes the target of 2.8 gigawatts of offshore wind for 2030 and 8 gigawatts by 2040. With these targets, the executive order likewise aims for net-zero in 2050 and a 70% reduction in carbon emissions from the energy sector by 2030. The offshore power industry will have enough electricity for an estimated 2.3 million homes by 2040.
To accelerate its renewable energy goals, the EO also directed the naming of a clean energy economic development coordinator and established the NC TOWERS (North Carolina Taskforce for Offshore Wind Energy Resources Strategies).
The state expects significant economic benefits from the $140 billion economic impact of the American offshore wind industry in the next 15 years.
Where is Kitty Hawk Wind Farm?
The site of Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind is in the Outer Banks, 27 miles from the coast of North Carolina and Virginia Beach in the Atlantic Ocean.
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management hosted (BOEM) three virtual sessions in August 2021 to hear the public’s inputs about the project’s potential impacts and resources.
These three virtual sessions will inform the environmental impact statement of BOEM. During the scoping session of BOEM, the agency identified reasonable alternatives and resources to optimize the planning and implementation of the project.
BOEM made the construction and operations plan of Kitty Hawk available for environmental review by the concerned public. The public commenting period ended in August 2021, and BOEM will release the EIS soon.
Who owns Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind Project?
Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of energy giant Iberdrola, owns the project lease. The company had already invested in Northeastern North Carolina in the Amazon Wind Farm.
According to the Public Strategy Group, the wind farm will benefit the state from 2021 to 2030 with $2 billion in investments.
The project will also potentially create 800 jobs in North Carolina and Virginia. Out of the 800, Avangrid Renewables aims for 600 jobs in the Hampton Roads region.
How large is the Kitty Hawk Wind Farm?
The wind farm has a lease area of 495 square kilometers or 122,405 acres.
How much wind power will Kitty Hawk offshore wind project produce?
The project will produce 2,500 megawatts of power for up to 700,000 households–four times the number in Virginia Beach.
When is the first power of the Kitty Hawk offshore wind project?
Avangrid Renewables will begin construction of the wind farm in 2024.
