Maryland’s first offshore wind project approved by DOI

The 2-GW project being developed by US Wind is located approximately 8.7 nautical miles offshore Maryland and approximately 9 nm from Sussex County, Delaware, at its closest points to shore.

This is the 10th approval of a commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project in the US. 

The project could generate over 2 GW of clean energy, which has the potential to power over 718,000 homes. With the approval of the project, the Department of Interior has approved more than 15 GW of clean energy from offshore wind energy projects.

US Wind chief executive Jeff Grybowski said, “Today marks the culmination of years of comprehensive environmental analysis on US Wind’s proposed projects.

“BOEM’s Record of Decision brings us another step closer to securing final approvals later this year and getting steel in the water. We’re eager to advance Maryland’s offshore wind goals and support good jobs in the region for decades to come.” He noted the Record of Decision brings the two-year National Environmental Policy Act process to a close and sets US Wind on a path to securing all remaining federal permits by the end of 2024. 

The development and construction phases of the Maryland Offshore Wind project could support almost 2,680 jobs annually over seven years. It will consist of three phases, which include the proposed installation of up to 114 wind turbine generators, up to four offshore substations and up to four offshore export cable corridors. Two phases, known as MarWin and Momentum Wind, already have offshore renewable energy certificates from the State of Maryland.

On 29 July 2024, BOEM issued the final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed project, which analysed the potential environmental impacts of the activities outlined in the project’s construction and operations plan and considered reasonable alternatives.

A ‘Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision for US Wind Inc’s Proposed Maryland Offshore Wind Project’ will be published in the Federal Register in the coming days.