BETHANY BEACH, Del. – In response to the proposed plans for an offshore wind project with U.S. Wind, the nonprofit Delaware Mobile Surf-Fisherman Club (DMS) has released a statement in opposition.
President of the club, Clark Evans, said the club has continued to monitor potential development of offshore wind for years and with this project, comes concerns.
"We oppose the landing of offshore wind export cables at 3R’s Beach. We also oppose U.S. Wind’s proposal to bring these export cables through the Indian River Inlet and our inland bays," said Evans. "U.S. Wind’s current proposal would be detrimental to our local ecosystem, and we simply can’t support it."
However, Sierra Club Director, Dustyn Thompson, told CoastTV News at a DNREC meeting on the project on June 5 otherwise.
"Offshore wind is one of our best resources to help cut down on the air pollution coming in from the West and also create more energy independence,"
An upcoming meeting on this project with DNREC on July 9 will hear comments on permits U.S. Wind applied for including: Subaqueous Lands Permit/Lease, Wetlands Permit, Water Quality Certification and Beach Preservation Coastal Construction Permit. Public comments will be accepted through September 9 for this project.
According to DNREC, the project itself is made up of up to 121 wind turbine generators, up to four offshore substations, up to four offshore/onshore export cables and one meteorological tower. The offshore/onshore export cables are proposed to land at 3R’s Beach near the parking lot and potential dune environments and to interconnect into a proposed substation to be constructed adjacent to the Indian River Power Plant.
