Up to 2.2 GW Maryland Offshore Wind Project Moves Closer to Federal Approval

July 30, 2024, by Adnan Memija

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has released the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for US Wind’s Maryland offshore wind project, indicating that the project is nearing the end of the federal review process.

BOEM held three public scoping meetings in June 2022 to solicit public input on the environmental review process and hosted two in-person and two virtual public meetings in October 2023 to gather feedback on a draft of the EIS from Tribal Nations, local community members, commercial fishing interests, and other ocean users.

If approved, the Maryland offshore wind project could generate between 1,100 MW and 2,200 MW of clean, renewable energy to the Delmarva Peninsula, which could power up to 770,000 homes.

US Wind is seeking approval for its proposed Maryland offshore wind project, which includes three planned phases. Two of those phases, MarWin and Momentum Wind, have offshore renewable energy certificates from the State of Maryland.

“Our environmental review carefully considered the best available science and information provided by Tribes, other government agencies, local communities, industry, ocean users, and environmental organizations,” said Elizabeth Klein, BOEM Director.

“This vital collaboration with all our government partners and stakeholders will continue through the subsequent phases of the project.”

US Wind’s proposal for all three phases includes the installation of up to 114 wind turbines, up to four offshore substation platforms, one meteorological tower, and up to four corridors for offshore export cables, which would make landfall in Delaware Seashore State Park.

If approved, the development and construction phases of the project could support an estimated 2,679 jobs annually over seven years.

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The next step is for BOEM to issue a Record of Decision (ROD) on US Wind’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP), which is expected in September 2024.

Other cooperating federal agencies and state agencies are expected to render favorable decisions by the end of 2024, according to US Wind.

“We applaud BOEM for the comprehensive and thorough review of our federal permit application. We are now one step closer to securing all of our federal permits by the end of this year, and look forward to the day we can get steel in the water,” said Jeff Grybowski, US Wind CEO.

US Wind acquired an 80,000-acre federal lease area off the coast of Maryland in 2014. In 2017, Maryland approved the company’s MarWin project and, in 2021, the state approved the Momentum Wind project.

The lease area is approximately 8.7 nautical miles offshore Maryland and approximately 9 nautical miles from Sussex County, Delaware.

In addition to building MarWin and Momentum Wind, US Wind also plans to establish Maryland’s first permanent offshore wind component factory – Sparrows Point Steel.

US Wind is owned by Renexia S.p.A., a subsidiary of Toto Holding S.p.A. Since 2020, funds managed by Apollo Global Management have been used to build out a team at US Wind and support project development, said the company.