(The Center Square) — While neighboring states have begun construction on their offshore wind farms, Maryland has yet to install one turbine foundation, though its offshore wind energy goals are more ambitious.
In April 2023, Gov. Wes Moore signed the Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resources Act, which set Maryland’s goal of 8.5 gigawatts of offshore wind energy generation by 2031—more than enough to meet the state’s residential power needs.
By comparison, New York – a leader in the renewable landscape with some of the most ambitious state clean energy goals – passed a law in 2019 mandating 9 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035. The Empire State just completed its first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in March: South Fork Wind, with 12 turbines that can generate about 132 megawatts of energy. Two more projects have been approved for construction – Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind – that together should produce 3 gigawatts.
Virginia has its Virginia Clean Economy Act, which mandates the state produce 5.2 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035. The commonwealth is on target to install about half the needed turbine foundations for its first offshore wind farm by the end of October; the 2.6 gigawatt project is slated to be fully operational by the end of 2026. Dominion Energy has purchased other lease areas for potential offshore wind expansion.
Massachusetts’s 2022 law codifies a goal of 5.6 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by July 2027. It has begun construction on Vineyard Wind, which should ultimately supply the Bay State with two gigawatts. Another offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, New England Wind, was approved for construction in April and will generate another 2.6 gigawatts of energy.
Maryland might have been on its way to its wind energy goals, but a few months after wind energy giant Orsted withdrew from New Jersey’s Ocean Wind project, it also withdrew from Skipjack, a wind farm off the coast of southern Delaware that would have produced about 1 gigawatt.
As it stands today, offshore wind developer US Wind, which was founded in 2011 and “has established itself as Maryland’s leader in offshore wind development,” has received approval for its environmental impact statement for MarWin and Momentum Wind but has yet to receive construction approval.
“If approved, this project could generate between 1,100 and 2,200 megawatts” – or between 1.1 and 2.2 gigawatts – “of clean, renewable energy for the Delmarva Peninsula, and power up to 770,000 homes,” according to the Bureau for Ocean Energy Management.
Equinor Wind US just won a provisional lease for more waters off the coast of Delaware and Maryland, but that is just one of the early steps in developing an offshore wind farm.
“This lease… has the potential to help support the offshore wind goals of either state; however, at this early stage, Equinor Wind US LLC… has not yet provided any specific plans or proposal to BOEM regarding potential development of the lease area,” a spokesperson for BOEM told The Center Square in an email.
The Center Square did not receive confirmation of any other concrete plans for more offshore wind farms in Maryland from BOEM, the Maryland Energy Administration, the Maryland Public Service Commission, or US Wind.
US Wind may complete the Skipjack project, which, together with its other projects, would provide Maryland with a total of nearly 2.1 to 3.2 gigawatts.
The commission has been directed by the governor to devise a strategy by Jan. 1 for how to accomplish the state’s wind energy goals.