Dive Brief:
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The Department of the Interior on Tuesday approved the construction and operations plan, or COP, for the 2-GW Maryland Offshore Wind Project, clinching the final federal permit developer US Wind needs from the department to begin construction.
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The permit clears the way for the construction of more than a hundred wind turbines off the shore of Maryland and Delaware, and will help build the U.S. offshore wind supply chain, according to the Oceantic Network, a trade association that represents the offshore wind industry.
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The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management this week also issued a Record of Decision finalizing a list of environmental measures expected to apply to future wind energy projects in New York and New Jersey.
Dive Insight:
Offshore wind groups see signs of hope for a stronger industry supply chain following the approval of the nation’s tenth commercial offshore wind farm this week.
“Maryland Offshore Wind will create American jobs by harnessing a strong, local offshore wind supply chain,” Oceantic Network Founder and CEO Liz Burdock said in a statement. “U.S. Wind has advanced plans to bring steel fabrication back to the old Bethlehem Steel facility in Dundalk, and the project will support a variety of other industries throughout its life cycle.”
US Wind has spent more than four years securing permits for the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, according to CEO Jeff Grybowski. The company also received a Letter of Authorization from the National Marine Fisheries Service on Nov. 26. US Wind acquired the 80,000-acre lease off the coast of Maryland in 2014.
The COP covers the construction of up to 114 wind turbines, four offshore substations, a meteorological tower, and up to four cable corridors with subsea transmission cables making landfall in Sussex County, Delaware. The project is located 10 nautical miles from Ocean City, Maryland.
US Wind continues to work with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Maryland Department of the Environment, and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to obtain required permits for nearshore activities, US Wind’s Vice President of External Affairs Nancy Sopko said. The company is working toward a 2026 groundbreaking, with offshore construction expected to begin in 2028.
In July, US Wind filed a rebid application with the Maryland Public Service Commission for 1,710 MW of offshore wind. The wind would be delivered in phases: 405 MW by the end of 2028 and the remainder in 2030, according to the application. The company expects to sell Maryland nearly 7 million MWh a year. Maryland PSC staff on Tuesday recommended that the commission approve the application, with minor changes.
“[BOEM’s] approval enables Maryland to meet growing demand for electricity, drive economic growth and job creation, and bolster American energy security,” Anne Reynolds, vice president for offshore wind at American Clean Power, said in a statement. “The project will generate substantial economic investment in the state, including the establishment of a new domestic manufacturing facility at Sparrows Point, paired with new, high-quality American jobs, to produce critical steel components for the projects.”
The Sparrows Point facility, Sopko said, “will stand on the former site of Bethlehem Steel, which was once the largest steel mill in the world. Bethlehem Steel built the Liberty ships for World War II and supplied the steel beams for the Empire State Building in New York City. Sparrows Point Steel will use American steel and skilled American workers to manufacture components for America’s next big energy industry.”
Earlier in the week, BOEM said that it has finalized a Record of Decision outlining environment measures that will likely apply to future offshore wind development in the six lease areas off the coast of New York and New Jersey. The 58 measures identified in the report represent strategies applied in previously awarded permits, and can be included in future construction and operations plans to reduce potential environmental impacts, according to BOEM.
The Environmental Protection Agency also announced on Monday a public comment period on two draft air quality permits for the New England Wind 1 and New England Wind 2 projects that would cover all air emissions by the projects, including emissions by vessels that may be used to repair wind turbines.
