In short: The U.S. Federal government has approved a plan to install 114 offshore wind turbines near Ocean City, defying legal challenges and opposition from President Donald Trump. The project, led by U.S. Wind, aims to generate 2 gigawatts of clean energy for more than 718,000 homes.
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| Liz Burdock, CEO of Oceanic Networks |
U.S. Wind, the project’s developer, announced that the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has issued a permit for its construction and operations plan, marking the final step in the federal approval process.
Despite the milestone, the project faces many uncertainties. The town of Ocean City has filed a lawsuit to block the development, alleging flaws in the federal approval process and that the project could harm the city’s tourism and real estate sectors. Additionally, President-elect Donald Trump, a vocal opponent of offshore wind power, has vowed to stop such projects.
“We’re going to make sure it’s done on day one,” Trump said earlier this year, according to the Associated Press. “I’m going to write it into an executive order. It’s going to be done on day one.”
US Wind and other industry supporters celebrated the federal approval. Jeff Grybowski, CEO of the Baltimore-based company, said in a statement: “This is a proud moment for US Wind. After more than four years of rigorous analysis, we are thrilled to receive final BOEM approval. Our projects will generate significant amounts of clean energy, meet the region’s growing electricity needs, and support local jobs.”
The project includes 114 wind turbines, four offshore substation platforms, a meteorological tower, and an export cable corridor for potential power delivery through Delaware. This wind farm is expected to generate up to 2 gigawatts of clean electricity—enough to power more than 718,000 homes.
Liz Burdock, CEO of Oceanic Networks, an industry organization, highlighted the significance of the approval, citing "This is the 10th commercial-scale offshore wind project in the United States to receive government approval, calling it "another significant achievement for the US offshore wind industry."
Maryland Offshore Wind History
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| Maryland's Offshore Wind Project, Photo Source: https://offshorewindmaryland.org/ |
On September 5, 2024, the internal Maryland offshore wind project announced the approval of the air project-the tenth commercial-scale offshore air power project in the country. The project could support 2 gigawatts for the Delmarva Peninsula, and to create for the electricity of 718,000 homes and the development and construction phases could support about 2,680 jobs annually for more than seven years. The lease region is about 8.7 nautical miles offshore Maryland and Delaware Sussex County is located at its nearest points on the shore about 9 nautical miles away.
There are three planned phases on the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, including up to 114 air turbine generators, four offshore substation platforms, one weather towers and four offshore export cable corridors. There are two phases called Marvin and Momentum Winds in the state of Maryland, offshore renewable power certificate.
On August 19, 2014, BOEM held a competitive lease sale offshore Maryland. US Wind Inc. was identified as the winner of Lease Area OCS-A 0490 (46,970 acres) located 10 nautical miles offshore Ocean City, Maryland in federal waters. Maryland Offshore Wind is in the environmental review phase within BOEM’s authorization process. This project is covered under FAST-41 and permitting progress can be found on the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC) dashboard.
About US Wind
US Wind is owned by funds managed by Renexia SpA, a subsidiary of American investment firm Apollo Global Management and Toto Holding SpA, founded in 2011. In 2014, US Wind acquired an 80,000-acre federal lease area off the coast of Maryland, establishing itself as Maryland's leader in offshore wind development by providing the potential for approximately 1,800 megawatts of offshore wind in Delmarva and power generation for more than 600,000 homes. In addition to developing clean energy for the region, the company is establishing Sparrows Point Steel, Maryland's first permanent offshore wind production facility at the former Bethlehem Steel site in the county.
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