By Nichola Groom

(Reuters] -The bidding for federal wind power leases was underway Wednesday for the two coastal areas of North Carolina, and South Carolina. The bids attracted over $2.7million each.

It is the second sale of this type of wind turbine this year. This comes following a record wind auction in February off the coast of New York, New Jersey which drew $4.37 Billion in high bidding.

Joe Biden, U.S. President has declared that offshore wind will generate the necessary carbon-free electricity to counter climate change and create jobs. His administration wants to make offshore wind 30 gigawatts by 2030.

Two leases totaling 110,091 acres were offered for auction online. The auction began at 9 AM EST (1300 GMT) According to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which manages federal energy development, these leases can one day produce 1.5 gigawatts of off-shore wind energy.

The sale includes 16 registered bidders. These include arms of European energy company that are currently developing U.S. offshore Wind projects like BP (NYSE)), Orsted(OTC:), and Shell. (LON.) New Energies. Duke Energy A North Carolina-based power firm, (NYSE:), is on the same list as Avangrid, (NYSE:), who is seeking a federal permit to build a facility off North Carolina’s coast.

BOEM reported that, unlike in New York Bight’s recent auction, only one bidder might win the Carolina Long Bay area lease areas.

It is unlikely that the Carolinas sale will be as crowded and chaotic as the New York Bight sale. This may partly because the southeastern states don’t have aggressive offshore wind procurement targets like their northern counterparts.

If a bidder commits to developing a domestic offshore supply chain of wind energy or training its workforce, it will be eligible for a 20% credit in the auction terms.