The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced the availability of its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed wind project offshore Maryland. BOEM has now completed environmental reviews for ten commercial-scale offshore wind projects since the start of the Biden-Harris administration.
If approved, this project could generate between 1,100 and 2,200 megawatts of clean, renewable energy for the Delmarva Peninsula, and 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 received 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 BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. “This vital collaboration with all our government partners and stakeholders will continue through the subsequent phases of the project."
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 project proposes to install up to 114 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. The lease area is approximately 8.7 nautical miles (nm) offshore Maryland and approximately 9 nm offshore Sussex County, Delaware, at its closest points to shore.
If approved, the development and construction phases of the project could support an estimated 2,679 jobs annually over seven years.
The Department of the Interior has approved the nation's first nine commercial scale offshore wind projects with a combined capacity of more than 13 gigawatts of clean energy—enough to power nearly 5 million homes. In that time, the Department has held four offshore wind lease auctions—including a record-breaking sale offshore New York and the first-ever sales offshore the Pacific Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. The Department also recently announced a schedule to hold up to 12 additional lease sales through 2028. On August 14, BOEM will hold an offshore wind lease sale for the Central Atlantic, auctioning areas offshore Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia that could generate up to 6.3 gigawatts of clean energy and power up to 2.2 million homes.
The Department has also taken steps to grow a sustainable offshore wind industry by encouraging the use of project labor agreements, strengthening workforce training, bolstering the domestic supply chain, and undertaking enhanced engagement with Tribes, fisheries, underserved communities, and ocean users.
The Maryland Offshore Wind Project final EIS will be published in the Federal Register in the coming days. For more information, visit BOEM’s website.
