US looking to void permit for yet another offshore wind project, court docs reveal
Moves by Justice and Interior departments as well as states highlight legal jeopardy for MidAtlantic array
The US government is looking to void approval of yet another massive offshore wind project, court documents reveal, as President Donald Trump’s war on wind continues.
The US Department of Justice (DoJ), in requesting a delay in legal proceedings against US Wind’s 2.2GW Maryland array, has revealed that the Interior Department may void approval of the project’s construction and operations plan (COP).
“Interior intends to reconsider its COP approval and move in the District of Maryland – the first-filed case – for voluntary remand of that agency action,” DoJ wrote in a filing.
Renexia-owned US Wind has been developing the project in its lease some 10 miles (16 km) off Ocean City, Maryland, since at least 2017 when it was awarded its first offtake contract by that state.
The project currently has 1.5GW of offshore renewable energy credits (ORECs) contracted to Maryland, with construction slated to begin next year.
Opposition to the project has ratcheted up with the election of Donald Trump, who has ordered his Interior secretary Doug Burgum to not only freeze offshore wind leasing and permitting but also put approved arrays under review with a goal of termination or modification.
US Wind currently faces two legal challenges, one from homeowner Edward Bintz in the federal District Court for Delaware, and another spearheaded by tourism hub Ocean City in a federal district court in Maryland.
Justice’s motion was to move the date of its response to the Delaware suit to 5 September to align with the Maryland suit.
“The outcome of Interior’s reconsideration has the potential to affect the Plaintiff’s claims in this case” in Delaware, the DoJ wrote in its request to stay proceedings “at least until the District of Maryland has had the opportunity to rule on the remand motion.”
Continuing to litigate the Delaware case before Maryland rules “would potentially waste considerable time and resources for both the parties and the Court,” Justice added.
DoJ highlighted the similarities between the two suits facing the project.
Both raise Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) and National Environmental Policy Act claims.
OCSLA was the subject of a recent Burgum order that dramatically tightened standards for offshore wind project approvals.
BOEM is the lead regulator under Interior charged with overseeing energy development in coastal waters.
Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also raised issues with the project’s state permit, which Maryland has pushed back against.
The EPA stripped EDF’s 1.5GW Atlantic Shores arrray in New Jersey of its Clean Air permit, effectively stopping development.
A halt to the project would be a blow not only to US Wind but Maryland’s offshore wind mandate of 8.5GW by 2031.
Maryland is in regional transmission operator PJM’s 13-state network that is seeing demand growth of nearly 5% annually and is falling behind in ensuring generation keeps pace.
The project has also faced local permitting challenges in Delaware.
US Wind CEO Jeff Grybowski has been at the fore of offshore wind development for years, having shepherded the nation's first array, the 30MW Block Island Wind to Rhode Island, to completion in 2016.