Wind Turbine

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.

Trying to recoup some of those abandoned OREC's, however, has delayed construction. 

"With the new OREC potential awards it'll be around 2030," said Dave Wilson with US Wind. "Obviously we'll start to hire way before then but we're looking at a few years out from now for sure." 

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.

Wilson told us better turbines will better benefit people in Maryland. 

"Every turbine out there will provide energy to over 5,000 homes and every swing of the turbine blade provides energy to a home for over two days," said Wilson. "They rotate about eight times per minute, so that's a lot of energy." 

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.

We reached out to Ocean City officials to get their thoughts on this potential expansion. Councilmember John Gehrig sent WBOC the following. 

"It is no surprise that US Wind wants to make the turbines bigger. They have been changing the deal from the beginning. The turbines are now over 3x taller than originally presented and now they want to put them as close as 3 and a half miles off the coast. Well over 100 massive steel structures filled with oil and fragile fiberglass blades with blinking red lights will be clearly visible from Ocean City’s beaches and will change the landscape forever. Broken blades from another project just shut down beaches in the northeast. None of this is good for Ocean City and Worcester County’s economy.
In fact, the wind industry’s own research reports admit this will negatively impact tourism and property values, yet they proceed full speed ahead with no interest in a mutually beneficial solution.
 
In an effort to support the jobs  created in our partner communities on the Eastern Shore and throughout Maryland, the Town of Ocean City has made countless attempts to compromise and work with US Wind, BOEM, and the state of Maryland to simply move the turbines back so that they are not visible from Maryland’s coast. Our attempts to discuss a solution that works for all parties have been met with closed doors and complete disregard.
Instead, US Wind does the opposite. The turbines get bigger and closer.
On top of that, the government raises the utility rates on all Marylanders for energy that these rate payers may not even receive. US Wind (an Italian company) takes US money and pays local organizations and municipalities for their silence so that they do not oppose the US Wind project. None of this seems right.
 
But… it is consistent. US Wind keeps changing the deal and asking for more. The government agencies comply. A little while later, US Wind is back asking for a little more… and the cycle continues to where we are now… more turbines 938 feet tall potentially as close to 3 and a half miles offshore according to the Call Area 2 specs.
 
You see, it will never stop as long as a for profit international company can take US federal dollars to make a large profit on the backs of Maryland rate payers. Small coastal communities seem to be acceptable casualties. 
The Town of Ocean City is committed to do what it takes to prevent the industrialization of our ocean and to preserve the clean, pristine, beautiful, ocean views and sunrises that make Ocean City, Maryland somewhere to smile about."

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Digital Content Producer

Sean joined WBOC as Digital Content Producer in February 2023. Originally from New Jersey, Sean graduated from Rutgers University with bachelor’s degrees in East Asian Studies and Religion. He has lived in New York, California, and Virginia before he and his wife finally found a place to permanently call home in Maryland. With family in Laurel, Ocean Pines, Berlin, and Captain’s Cove, Sean has deep ties to the Eastern Shore and is thrilled to be working at WBOC serving the community.

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