Wind Turbine

Duke Energy has been working towards a wind farm along the Outer Banks.  The initial plan called for a pilot program in conjunction with UNC Chapel Hill to build three wind turbines in the Sound, but Duke Energy has decided it will not build the three wind turbines in Pamlico Sound as a pilot project..

The costs of the small pilot project were too steep. Duke had estimated the costs at $35 million. But it now believes the costs would be closer to $116 million to build three turbines.

Duke Energy feels the economies of scale still argue that building a large number of offshore turbines would be economically feasible for developers. The problem with the small project is that the utility cannot sufficiently defray the design, permitting and other fixed costs with only three turbines.

Duke Energy does not consider this a failure.

The project has already proved that the best place for building such turbines would be on the ocean side of the Outer Banks.  Duke Energy feels that Pamilco Sound is too shallow for the barges that would be required for construction of the offshore turbines. And the greater wind resources in North Carolina are clearly on the ocean side of the Outer Banks.

This may seem like a step back, but Duke Energy is still committed to the wind farm and has increased its investment in UNC Chapel Hill’s study of offshore wind power for North Carolina to $4 million, a $400,000 increase.