North Carolina has been working hard to become a major player in offshore wind energy. Those efforts gained additional momentum in May 2022 as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) awarded leases to Duke Energy Renewables Wind, LLC and TotalEnergies Renewables USA, LLC. If fully developed, the two lease areas will generate 1.3 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy or enough clean, renewable energy to power nearly 500,000 homes.