MILTON, DE - Offshore wind company Orsted has finalized the purchase of over 64 acres in Sussex County, Delaware under their subsidiary name Skipjack Offshore Energy LLC.
The property, located on Walker Road southeast of Milton and just north of Harbeson, was sold for $5.2 million in a finalized sale on January 31, property records show. The same property was sold in 2022 for $1.475 million.
The purchase has both supporters and opponents of offshore wind energy asking: why?
Orsted didn't provide much clarity to that question in a statement sent to WBOC on Monday.
"This transaction is tied to an agreement struck in October 2023, prior to Orsted's decision to reposition the project. Pursuant to that October 2023 agreement, the transaction was finalized this month. Any future plans for the property would be subject to federal and local permits," said Maddy Cronin, Orsted's Head of Government Affairs & Market Strategy.
Orsted previously abandoned offshore wind credits for a project off of Worcester County, MD and announced its withdrawal from Maryland development altogether, citing a lack of financial incentive. Rival energy company US Wind would later apply for those abandoned credits in order to expand their own offshore wind project. The Maryland Public Service Commission approved that application in January.
After Orsted paused development on its Skipjack project, supporters of offshore wind weren't sure if, and when, the company would surface again.
Dustyn Thompson, Director of the Sierra Club's Delaware Chapter, said he certainly didn't think it would happen now, given President Donald Trump's clear stance against wind energy.
"Seeing movement in a positive direction by a wind company has a lot of us scratching our heads as well as what does this mean?" said Thompson.
According to the Bureau of Ocean Management’s (BOEM) website, Orsted subsidiaries are currently listed on two offshore wind leases off the coast of Sussex County. The first, under GSOE I, LLC, is just over 70,000 acres. The second is listed under Skipjack Offshore Energy and is about 26,000 acres. Together, the two lease areas stretch from Rehoboth Beach south past Bethany Beach.
Offshore wind development is currently halted under President Trump's executive orders, while any new approvals of offshore permits, renewals, or loans are also paused.
The climate surrounding wind energy, coupled with Orsted's seemingly simple move of purchasing a plot of land, is why Thompson isn't buying too much stock in the company's recent move.
"I certainly don't read it from our perspective as Orsted's back on, everything is moving forward again," said Thompson. "I think we would have to see a lot more activity before anything close to that would be on our minds, but, you know, some of these energy companies play the long game and so this could be that."
Fenwick Island Mayor Natalie Magdeburger is more skeptical. She believes this could be an attempt by Orsted to eventually bring power cables onshore.
"This is an ominous and troubling development for anyone who truly wants to protect our coastal environment and communities," said Magdeburger.
Magdeburger also noted that Orsted's newly purchased property is "close to a substation that was considered by US Wind and is associated with land routes that could follow Delmarva Power's right of ways with either a 3 R's landing or landing near Tower Hill."
The recently-purchased property is currently labeled as vacant agricultural land and it is not immediately clear what Orsted’s plans for the area are. US Wind is currently locked in a legal battle with Sussex County over its intended electrical substation near the Indian River Power Plant. The substation would allow the company to bring energy from offshore wind turbines ashore in Delaware at 3R’s Beach.
