The GE-Alstom Block Island Wind Farm off of Rhode Island became operational in December 2016, the first commercial offshore U.S. wind farm. Local governments in Maryland and Delaware took steps this week that could block a wind farm planned off the coast of Ocean City. Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images.
In a dramatic move, members of Sussex County Council in Delaware rejected an application crucial to the completion of a new wind farm off the Atlantic coast. The proposal, which was rejected Tuesday in a 4-1 vote, was at the center of a monthslong debate in Sussex County.
If approved, it would have allowed Renewable Development, a subsidiary of US Wind, to connect high-voltage cables from the Indian River to a new substation adjacent to the Indian River Power Plant in Dagsboro.
US Wind, a Maryland energy company owned in part by an Italian infrastructure firm, said in a statement that it will appeal the decision.
Now with the future of the project uncertain, Sussex County taxpayers will likely be on the hook to fund the county’s opposition to US Wind’s appeal and a potential future lawsuit.
Even with the rejection, the US Wind project is not dead, but significantly hampered and likely looking at further delays. It can still find another way to bring its cables ashore if it should lose its appeal.
What happened?
With a nearly full chamber, members of Sussex County Council met Tuesday morning to consider the contested application. Members of council denied community members the opportunity to comment on the upcoming vote, saying it closed the public record following a previous hearing.
It was uncertain how council members would vote, seeing as three members of the council are on their way out of office following electoral losses. But in the end, nearly all of the council members chose to reject the application.
State launches panel to study climate implications of pension system investments
Jeff Grybowski, the CEO of US Wind, said in a statement that Sussex County made a “terrible anti-business decision” in its rejection. He cited recommendations by the Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission, as well as the remote, undeveloped parcel’s zoning, which would allow for the substation.
Additionally, the statement signaled intentions by the firm to appeal the decision in court.
“We know that the law is on our side and are confident that today’s decision will not stand,” Grybowski said. “Our plans to build the region’s most important clean energy project are unchanged.”
One of the council members who rejected the substation was Mark Schaeffer, who is leaving office in January. He said he believed the proposal would not benefit Delawareans.
“None of the benefits flow to the residents of Sussex County or to the people of the state of Delaware,” Schaeffer said. “They all flow to the benefit of the state of Maryland and the residents of the state of Maryland.”
While the wind farm would be visible from the coast of Delaware and connect to the region’s energy grid in the First State, it is actually regulated by Maryland and positioned in federal waters.
Schaeffer also said the project could have “devastating” environmental impacts in both Delaware waterways, as well as the ocean.
He was not the only one to shut down the proposal. Council members Cynthia Green, Douglas Hudson and John Rieley also echoed similar concerns as Schaeffer.
The lone vote of support came from Council President Michael Vincent, who will also leave office in January. He said Tuesday’s rejection could backfire in the future, and thatz rejecting the proposal on the grounds that it won’t benefit Delaware opens the door for other states to do the same.
“I think it’s a bad precedent to set,” he said. “I certainly hope that people in other states don’t feel that way about us.”
Reactions to the rejections
Vincent’s sentiments were echoed by some environmental protection and renewable energy activists. In a press release from multiple organizations, they all expressed dismay with the county’s decision to block the application.
Peggy Schultz, founder and facilitator of People for Offshore Wind Energy Resources, said the move could hinder future energy growth in Delaware.
“By rejecting the permit, Sussex County leaders set a dangerous precedent that could hamper future infrastructure projects that will doubtlessly be required to meet rising energy demand in our region and to help bring more clean, affordable energy online,” Schultz said.
Mark Nardone, the director of the Delaware Nature Society, said the county missed out on “direct savings, job growth and infrastructure improvements promised to Sussex County.”
He had previously noted that since Delaware doesn’t produce much of its own energy and often relies on outside states, creating a new wind farm could limit the amount of emissions produced in surrounding areas.
“Delawareans must double down on their commitment to being part of the solution to the climate and energy crisis we’re experiencing,” Nardone said in Tuesday’s release.
David Stevenson, the director of the Caesar Rodney Institute, could not be reached for comment following the vote. The conservative Delaware public policy think tank has opposed the building of offshore wind farms here for more than a decade.
Md. county wants to buy West Ocean City properties US Wind is seeking
US Wind’s plans hit another potential snag this week, when the Worcester County Board of Commissioners in Maryland voted Tuesday to try to block the company’s purchase of two West Ocean City Harbor properties that it had planned to use for operational and maintenance facilities for its wind farm. Local officials have asserted that US Wind’s plans for the harbor would obliterate commercial fishing operations on the Lower Shore.
While US Wind is already negotiating with the property owners to buy the buildings and expand the pier along the shoreline, county leaders want to explore the possibility of obtaining the properties through eminent domain and preserving them as commercial fish houses. The properties are currently home to Southern Connection Seafood and Martin Fish Co.
“None of our actions today have been entered into lightly,” Worcester Commission President Ted Elder (R) said in a statement. “Over the past year or so, we have spoken out at every opportunity to Gov. [Wes] Moore, to state legislators, to the Maryland Public Service Commission, to Sussex County where wind turbine cables would come ashore, and to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), warning that Worcester County’s commercial and sport fishing industries would be destroyed if US Wind is permitted to close down the fish houses. They have turned a deaf ear to us.”
In a statement, US Wind said that the company is in fact working with local stakeholders to mitigate the potential damage to the area’s commercial fishing industry.
“Worcester County’s latest efforts would block much needed upgrades to the West Ocean City Harbor and the economic benefits that would flow from building a new facility in the area,” spokesperson Nancy Sopko said.
Last month, the Maryland Board of Public Works unanimously approved a wetlands license that would enable US Wind to expand the pier once it obtains the properties. But local officials are hoping to stop the project in its tracks.
“If there ever was a worthy use of eminent domain, this is it,” said Worcester County Chief Administrative Officer Weston Young.
– Josh Kurtz of Maryland Matters contributed to this report, which originally appeared in Spotlight Delaware.
This story has been updated with a statement from US Wind.