The first auction of 2024 for more land leased for offshore wind off the Delmarva Peninsula was cleared for Aug. 14 after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released the Central Atlantic Final Sale Notice.
The notice is the last step required by the agency to hold a lease auction for the Central Atlantic region, which includes offshore areas in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. In total, the area available for lease covers more than 275,000 acres, enough to develop up to 6.3 GW of offshore wind energy capacity.
“We are excited to announce this sale and underscore our commitment to explore additional areas in the Central Atlantic for potential offshore wind energy development. BOEM will continue to work with all ocean users to ensure offshore wind energy proceeds in an environmentally responsible manner," said Elizabeth Klein, the bureau's director.
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Ongoing federal partnerships on offshore wind
Earlier this month, the bureau signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the state of Maryland to engage stakeholders in identifying acreage for additional offshore wind lease auctions in the Atlantic. According to the memorandum, additional acreage is critical to meeting Maryland’s and other Mid-Atlantic states’ offshore wind power generation targets.
The Biden-Harris administration had previously committed to holding these auctions after publishing a Proposed Sale Notice in December for sites in the region. Also in June, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order that directed every state agency to develop a plan for "a just energy transition" and requires the Maryland Energy Administration to chart a path toward powering the state with 100% clean electricity by 2035.
While offshore wind developer US Wind declined to comment on the bureau's announcement, Maddy Voytek, Ørsted's Head of Government Affairs & Market Strategy in Maryland, noted they would continue to look for opportunities.
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"Ørsted's focus in the Central Atlantic is continuing to develop Skipjack Wind. We have high confidence in the project’s ability to deliver value for both people and nature. As we move forward with Skipjack Wind’s development, we will continue to monitor future procurement opportunities," Voytek said.
Detractors cite 'foreign owned' offshore wind companies
Detractors for the expansion of offshore wind in Maryland, like Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md-1st, took aim at the decision, noting there were still a number of environmental issues surrounding plans for turbines.
“We should never allow foreign-owned offshore wind companies to control our energy supply — much less harm our marine life while doing it," said a spokesperson for Harris.
In January, Harris held a townhall meeting with the public attended by offshore wind experts and regional leaders who opposed turbine development.
Among the concerns voiced were the lack of structural soundness of turbines, impacts on marine mammals and national safety from foreign attacks. Experts testified, and Harris reiterated, that for all the data presented to the Bureau when the companies acquired their licenses for the development, that numbers were continually changed to minimize the impact on native sea mammals and the environment.
During the January meeting, Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan categorized the proposed development off the Maryland coast as nothing short of "a tourism killer" for a location that brings in an estimated 8 million visitors annually.
US Wind and Ørsted currently have federal leasing agreements to operate their fleet of turbines in the ocean between 15 to 21 miles off the coast of Maryland and Delaware. The Baltimore-based US Wind is considering properties in Ocean City for the maintenance and operations of the turbines that are scheduled to be operational by 2026.
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This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Will offshore wind presence get even bigger off Ocean City? Here's the latest
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