DELMARVA- The U.S. Department of the Interior for Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced the approval of the country’s tenth commercial large-scale offshore wind energy project that would be off of Delmarva's coast.
With Thursday's approval, the department has approved more than 15 gigawatts of clean energy from offshore wind energy projects, equivalent to half of the capacity needed to achieve President Biden’s goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. Projects approved to date will power 5.25 million homes, said BOEM.
US Wind’s Maryland Offshore Wind Project, as approved, could generate over 2 gigawatts of clean, renewable energy for the Delmarva Peninsula and power over 718,000 homes, according to BOEM.
Additionally, the department says the development and construction phases of the project could support almost 2,680 jobs annually over seven years. The lease area is approximately 8.7 nautical miles offshore Maryland and approximately 9 nautical miles from Sussex County, at its closest points to shore. This project has posed pushback from Fenwick Island and Ocean City and potential legal action.
The Maryland Offshore Wind Project consists of three planned phases, which include the proposed installation of up to 114 wind turbine generators, up to four offshore substation platforms, one meteorological tower, and up to four offshore export cable corridors. BOEM says two phases, known as MarWin and Momentum Wind, already have offshore renewable energy certificates from the State of Maryland.
Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan is considering legal action against BOEM over its decision to approve this offshore wind project. Meehan stated today that the town is consulting with experts on the possibility of filing that lawsuit. While he emphasized that litigation is a last resort, he believes BOEM failed to assess the potential economic and environmental impact on Ocean City.
“We are extremely disappointed,” Meehan said. “In our opinion, they forgot to consider how this affects our economy and property values.”
Meehan reiterated concerns that offshore wind turbines would overshadow the shoreline. "The environmental impact study even states they will be the dominant feature off the horizon. Well, I know what the dominant feature is today — it's that beautiful ocean."
In contrast, U.S. Wind CEO Jeff Grybowski celebrated the decision. "We’re eager to advance Maryland’s offshore wind goals and support good jobs in the region for decades to come," Grybowski said.
However, local commercial fishermen like Sonny Gwin expressed concern, fearing the turbines will harm their livelihoods. "It’s beyond me that they are going to continue doing this. It’s another nail in the coffin, so to speak," Gwin remarked.
U.S. Wind has consistently maintained that its project is environmentally sound.