DELMARVA - Offshore wind company U.S. Wind has submitted an application to the state of Maryland to revise and expand its proposed project off the coast of Delmarva.
According to the Maryland Public Service Commission, US Wind was originally awarded offshore wind renewable energy credits (ORECs) for their initial proposal, which included 114 wind turbines and up to 4 offshore export cables. ORECs, awarded by the state, give energy developers incentives to develop offshore wind projects.
Now, US Wind is seeking to use unused ORECs that were abandoned when fellow offshore wind developer Orsted paused the development of their Skipjack project off the coast. Using those new incentives, US Wind says it can greatly expand the amount of energy their offshore project produces and have revised their proposal to Maryland.
“This new combined project increases the total capacity of US Wind’s Maryland offshore wind portfolio by more than 600 [megawatts],” US Wind claimed in their revised application, submitted at the end of July.
US Wind points to new advances in turbine technology to make the expansion possible. Their original application assumed the turbines would have a power rating of 4 to 6 megawatts. The company says they now anticipate using a more advanced and powerful model rated at 15 megawatts, according to US Wind.
The revised application does not change the number of turbines, which remains at 114.
US Wind’s total spending within Maryland is estimated to jump from an estimated $862 million to $1.045 billion should the revised application be approved, according to the company.
A virtual public hearing is slated for Wednesday, October 16th at 6:30 p.m. for the Public Service Commission to review the new application. The Commission says it will evaluate the new plan’s environmental, health, and economic impacts as well as its effect on Maryland utility ratepayers.
Those who would like to speak at the virtual hearing can send an email to kimberly.shock@maryland.gov by noon on Friday, October 11th. A live stream of the meeting will also be available at the Maryland Public Service Commission’s Youtube page. The Commission will also accept public comments through their online portal until November 1st.
