US Wind has relinquished its lease at Tradepoint Atlantic’s Sparrows Point site in Maryland, where the company had planned to manufacture steel components for its offshore wind projects, according to US media.
The site will instead be taken over by Anduril Industries for a new shipbuilding facility as US Wind’s Maryland Offshore Wind Project continues to face legal and regulatory uncertainty.
US Wind had planned to develop Sparrows Point Steel at the former Bethlehem Steel-operated site, producing components including monopiles and towers for offshore wind turbines. The company partnered with Spanish manufacturer Haizea Wind Group in 2023 to develop and operate the facility, which was expected to create hundreds of jobs.
The US Department of Transportation later withdrew USD 47.4 million (around EUR 42.4 million) in federal funding for the Sparrows Point Steel marshalling port project as part of a wider cancellation of funding for US offshore wind port projects.
US Wind CEO Jeff Grybowski said the company’s offshore wind plans, like other US projects, have been delayed by legal disputes and uncertainty created by federal agencies. He said the company was therefore shifting its focus to supporting Anduril’s development at Sparrows Point.
According to Naval Today, Anduril plans to invest USD 3.7 billion (around EUR 3.3 billion) in the new Arsenal-2 facility at Tradepoint Atlantic, with the US Navy providing a further contract worth up to USD 2.9 billion (around EUR 2.6 billion).
The facility will manufacture components and large assemblies for Virginia-class submarines. It is planned to cover more than two million square feet on a 187-acre site, with initial operations expected in 2030.
The change means US Wind will no longer pursue its planned wind turbine component manufacturing facility at the site, at least for the time being, according to Maryland Matters.
US Wind’s Maryland Offshore Wind Project comprises up to 2 GW of planned capacity in the company’s federal lease area off the coast of Ocean City. The project includes the MarWin and Momentum Wind phases, which have received Maryland Offshore Renewable Energy Credits. The US Department of the Interior (DOI) approved the project’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP) in 2024.
The Trump administration said in 2025 that it planned to seek the revocation of the federal approval, after which the project became subject to further legal proceedings.
US Wind originally agreed with Tradepoint Atlantic in 2021 to develop 90 waterfront acres at Sparrows Point as an offshore wind deployment hub, with the company planning to invest in the site through its Maryland projects.