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Posts Tagged ‘US Wind’

Atlantic Wind War update – Delaware Appeals Board to hear challenge to State’s coastal zone consistency decisions

Posted in energy policy, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

US Wind “MarWin” lease – green
US Wind “MarWin” project

Unlike offshore oil and gas projects, where State and local govt are usually of one mind (pro or con), States and localities have disagreed sharply about offshore wind. This is particularly true in New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, where the State governments are wind advocates despite strong local opposition.

As a result of litigation filed by local entities, and with the acceptance of the Courts, the US Dept. of the Interior is reconsidering Construction & Operations Plan (COP) approvals for the SouthCoast Wind project offshore Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the Atlantic Shores project offshore New Jersey, and US Wind’s Maryland Offshore Wind (“MarWin”) project. These COPs were approved at the end of the previous Administration. Most notably, the SouthCoast Wind COP was approved on 1/17/2025, just three days before the inauguration.

With regard to the US Wind MarWin project, there is a new twist in that the Delaware Environmental Appeals Board unanimously agreed to hear challenges to the State’s CZMA consistency decisions. The complete appeal file is attached.

The criticism of US Wind’s failure to address the risks of turbine blade failures and emergency response plans (p. 10) is warranted given the unacceptably high rate of such failures, the 2024 Vineyard Wind failure (still no investigation report!), and last month’s troubling blade failure at the He Dreiht wind farm offshore Germany (photo below).

Photo: Bundespolizeiinspektion See Cuxhaven
Statement-of-Appeal-BintzDownload

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Interesting case: Delaware litigation on approval of the Coastal Construction Permit for the Maryland Offshore Wind Project

Posted in decommissioning, energy policy, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , on October 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The Dept. of the Interior is currently reconsidering approval of the Construction and Operations Plan for the Maryland Offshore Wind Project (US Wind).

Attached is a court filing challenging Delaware’s approval of the Coastal Construction Plan for that project. Some interesting points from the filing:

  • Maryland local governments declined to allow the transmission lines from the Maryland Offshore Wind Project to come ashore in their jurisdictions.
  • The Governor of Delaware agreed to allow the transmission lines to make landfall at the Delaware Seashore State Park.
  • The transmission pipelines would then traverse the adjacent Delaware Bays, to an inland substation, from which the power would be sent to Maryland.
  • US Wind applied for a number of permits from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources (DNREC) specific to horizontal directional drilling, laying cable pipelines, and other coastal construction activity.
  • The approval process, including provisions for public input, was not consistent with State regulations.
  • The Secretary’s decision to issue the beach construction permit is supported virtually exclusively by documents which were submitted by US Wind after the close of public comment.
  • Decommissioning and financial assurance information, a favorite BOE topic for both wind and oil/gas, was submitted after the close of the public record.
CRI US Wind Superior Ct Opening Brief Final version 5Download

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US Wind case provides further evidence of the emerging Federal-local govt alliance against offshore wind

Posted in energy policy, Offshore Wind, tagged , , , , , on August 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »

US Wind lease highlighted in green

Historically, State and local governments have tended to be aligned, either for or against offshore energy (primarily oil and gas) leasing. However, a new (offshore) world order is emerging with local governments joining the new Administration in opposition to wind projects.

Most recently, and consistent with previous speculation, the Federal govt announced its intent to revoke approval of the Construction and Operations Plan for the US Wind project offshore Maryland and Delaware. (See the attached court filing.) This project is not yet in the construction phase.

Particularly noteworthy, as has been the case for other wind projects offshore Mid-Atlantic and New England states, is the alignment of Federal and local (coastal) govts in opposition to State policies.

Specifically, with regard to the US Wind project, the positions of State and local leaders couldn’t differ more:

Ocean City MD Town Manager Terry McGean:

“This is an extremely positive development in our fight against the irresponsible and costly US Wind project,” McGean said to WBOC on Monday. “We have stated all along that the approval of this project was fast and tracked without adequate public input and that approvals ignored significant risks to our economy, fishing industry, marine mammals, and the horseshoe crab. We are glad that our concerns are finally being taken seriously.”

Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan:

“For the past eight years, Ocean City has voiced strong opposition to the proposed US Wind project. Unfortunately, we believe this project was fast-tracked and that our serious concerns have been largely ignored throughout the review process.“

Contrast the above comments with this statement from MD Governor Wes Moore:

“Canceling a project set to bring in $1 billion in investment, create thousands of good paying jobs in manufacturing, and generate more Maryland-made electrical supply is utterly shortsighted,” the Governor’s statement reads in part. “The President’s actions will directly lead to utility-rate hikes by taking off most promising ways for Maryland to meet its looming energy generation challenges.”

Such sharply divergent views are also evident in other coastal states. Offshore wind could be a factor in the upcoming gubernatorial race in NJ. The pro-wind energy candidate has the support of large environmental NGOs, while her opponent is supported by grass roots environmental groups that strongly oppose wind projects.

DOJ US Wind filingDownload

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Dept. of the Interior is reconsidering approval of US Wind Construction & Operations Plan

Posted in energy policy, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged , , , , , on August 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

A new court filing (attached) informs that the Dept. of the Interior is reconsidering the Construction & Operations Plan (COP) approval for US Wind’s Maryland Offshore Wind (“MarWin”) Project (maps above). That approval is the subject of litigation filed by Ocean City MD and others.

The key section of the Federal government’s filing is pasted below.

  1. An extension in this case is necessary as 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. See, e.g., Util. Solid Waste Activities Grp. v. EPA, 901 F.3d 414, 436 (D.C.Cir. 2018) (recognizing that administrative agencies have the authority to reconsider their decisions). The outcome of Interior’s reconsideration has the potential to affect the Plaintiff’s claims in this case.
Maryland Offshore WindDownload

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EPA rules that Maryland improperly issued US Wind permit

Posted in Offshore Wind, tagged , , , on July 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The main effect of the EPA ruling (attached) appears to be that permit appeals will be submitted to EPA rather than the State of Maryland.

mde-final-permit-appeal-letter-7-7-2025Download

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