Energy Shift
Duke Energy Terminates Offshore Wind Lease, Reinvests $129M into Traditional Energy and Grid Upgrades
Key Points
Duke Energy is a major utility, serving more than 8 million customers across several states and with a market capitalization around $100 billion, and a price-earnings ratio near 19.6, highlighting the scale of reallocating $129 million into traditional generation and grid upgrades.
The Brunswick County offshore wind lease is being sold back to the federal government, ending offshore turbines about 20 miles south of Southport; meanwhile an NC wind project remains only in the early development stage off the Outer Banks, and Virginia’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is nearing completion, illustrating a broader regional shift in offshore wind development.
Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe, executive vice president and CEO of Duke Energy Carolinas, said: 'This settlement allows Duke Energy to refocus $129 million in ways that directly benefit our customers and communities in the Carolinas,' with reinvestment potentially supporting new nuclear and natural gas generation and grid enhancements.
The move is framed within a broader political context, as the Trump administration has taken a critical stance on offshore wind, a factor cited by outlets covering the settlement and its timing alongside other U.S. utilities’ actions.
Duke Energy is walking away from its offshore wind lease off North Carolina, selling it back to the federal government for $129 million. The utility says it will reinvest every dollar into nuclear, natural gas, and grid upgrades — a direct pivot away from offshore wind and toward traditional power generation. Carolina Journal reported the settlement with the U.S. Department of the Interior was finalized on June 29, 2026.
The move follows a near-identical exit by TotalEnergies in March 2026, when that company took a $928 million buyback to abandon its U.S. wind leases. Together, the two deals push the Trump administration's total offshore wind buybacks to roughly $2.7 billion, according to Maritime Executive.
Duke Trades Wind Turbines for Nuclear and Gas
The terminated lease covered the Carolina Long Bay area, about 20 miles south of Southport, NC. The site was once expected to power 300,000 homes. Now that capacity is off the table. Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe, CEO of Duke Energy Carolinas, said the settlement "allows Duke Energy to refocus $129 million in ways that directly benefit our customers and communities in the Carolinas," per Carolina Journal.
The $129 million will go toward feasibility studies for Small Modular Reactors, new gas-fired plants, and grid modernization. Duke serves 8.7 million customers across the Southeast and Midwest. At a market cap of roughly $99.77 billion and a price-earnings ratio of 19.6, the $129 million reallocation is a small but symbolically significant bet on baseload power, according to gCaptain.
Trump's 'Energy Dominance' Policy Drives the Exit
The lease termination fits squarely into President Trump's offshore wind strategy. On January 20, 2025, Trump signed a memorandum freezing new wind leases and pausing all project reviews. By December 2025, five major offshore wind projects were paused over national security and economic concerns. gCaptain noted the administration framed the Duke deal as converting "a national security concern into projects that will lower costs."
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Trump's "vision of unleashing affordable, reliable American energy is being implemented" through deals like this one. High interest rates and supply chain bottlenecks had already made offshore wind more expensive than traditional generation in the U.S. market, giving Duke and others a financial reason to exit alongside the political one.
Clean Energy Advocates Call It a Costly Mistake
Not everyone sees the deal as a win. Katharine Kollins, president of the Southeastern Wind Coalition, called it a "major blow to the U.S. clean energy economy." She warned that removing energy options while electricity demand surges — driven by data centers and new manufacturing — is bad for grid reliability. The project's cancellation also wipes out an estimated 1,000-plus potential construction and maritime jobs.
Pasha Feinberg, an offshore wind strategist at the NRDC, was more blunt. He called the administration's approach a "War on Wind" and said, "Paying off companies so they will abandon clean energy is just ludicrous." Environmental groups also warn that leaning harder on natural gas exposes North Carolina ratepayers to fuel price swings and undermines the state's carbon goals, according to Energy Now.
Regional Wind Future Dims, But Virginia Presses On
Duke's exit effectively ends the prospect of a multi-state offshore wind hub along the Carolina coast. A separate Duke wind project off the Outer Banks remains in very early development. Meanwhile, Virginia's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is too far along to stop and continues moving toward completion. The contrast highlights how timing — and politics — now determine which U.S. offshore wind projects survive.
On the investor side, Duke Energy insiders sold roughly $2.9 million in stock over the past three months with zero reported purchases, according to data cited by Carolina Journal. Some analysts view this as routine at a $100 billion company. Others see it as a quiet signal that executives are cautious about the costs and risks of reshaping Duke's long-term energy portfolio.
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