US Wind signs key state deals amid local legal battle

Maryland-based offshore wind developer US Wind has signed $128m of grid and renewable energy certificate (REC) deals with neighbouring Delaware that advances the federally approved MidAtlantic project.

Delaware governor John Carney and the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control finalised the three agreements with US Wind that were initially tabled in December of 2023.

The deals will allow the developer to land export cables for the 248MW MarWin and 808.5MW Momentum Wind arrays at Delaware’s Seashore State Park. Both projects are contracted to Maryland.

In exchange, US Wind will pay Delaware some $128m in RECs and community development funds as well as annual rent payments. One REC is equivalent to the environmental attributes of 1MWh of renewable energy.

The project has already received all federal and state approvals, allowing it to begin at-sea construction.

“With the recent federal and state project approvals, we are ready to reap the environmental, health, workforce, energy cost and community benefits from this needed transition to renewable energy,” said governor Carney. “Delawareans will benefit in numerous ways from this important agreement.”

Jeff Grybowski, US Wind CEO, said: “These agreements signify our continued commitment to providing meaningful and lasting benefits to the people of Delaware from our projects.

“Our project will deliver a massive amount of new electricity directly into the regional electric grid in Delaware, which means a lot of benefits locally,” he added.

The developer, majority owned by Italy’s Renexia, will also provide $200m in upgrades to the local transmission system, as well as dredging and other coastal improvements valued at some $40m.

County opposition

Despite these benefits, the project has faced opposition from Sussex County governing council that has rejected permits for a necessary substation adjacent to the Indian River coal fired power plant.

The developer filed an appeal in the state Supreme Court 26 December asserting the permit denial was “wrong” and based on “expressed animosity toward the Offshore Wind Project”.

US Wind is renegotiating its offtake contracts with Maryland to reflect costs that have surged between 20-50% over the past three years while pitching a bid to massively expand the array by absorbing RECs specific to offshore wind that were abandoned by Orsted when the Danish firm scrapped its 1GW Skipjack arrays in 2023.

US Wind's federal approvals allow for some 2.2GW of capacity at the lease area 10 miles (16km) offshore Maryland and Delaware, which could be built out in three phases with up to 114 turbines and four at-sea substations and export cables.

The project will begin construction during Donald Trump's second term starting 20 January, who reiterated his vow to block offshore wind development in a press conference this week.

With full approvals in hand, US Wind's arrays will likely move forward. Staunch local opposition in both Delaware and Maryland could see the developer in court, however, where a Trump-dominated Justice Department may choose not to defend its approvals, potentially leading to costly delays.