Senator Mary Beth Carozza & Delegate Hartman send letter to federal agency showing support for ongoing lawsuit against U.S. Wind’s offshore project

MARYLAND. – U.S. Wind’s offshore project has sparked controversy on the Eastern Shore. The company is looking to install a wind farm about 11 miles from Ocean City’s coast.

State Senator Mary Beth Carozza and Delegate Wayne Hartman are calling for a stop to the project. They sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum stating they won’t let up the pressure.

“We’ve been fighting it since 2017, and now we are in 2025, and the stop offshore wind movement has the strongest momentum we’ve ever had,” said Senator Carozza.

President Trump’s executive order required deeper consideration for new or renewed leasing in federal waters. Supporters feel they have a case to halt the project.

Within the letter writes, “Until the very end of his administration, President Biden did everything he could to accelerate the approval of offshore wind
development. Ocean City’s lawsuit was filed on October 25, 2024, and on January 17, 2025 – just three days before the end of his term.”

The hope is for Secretary Burgum to send the project back to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for further review. Senator Carozza told WMDT that not every requirement was checked.

“Which makes the case that it was premature, and they did not factor into all the negative impacts that we brought to their attention. And they expedited an approval while the Biden administration was still in place.”

Officials from U.S. Wind disagree. Director of Marine Affairs, Benjamin Cooper, said they’ve taken necessary steps to minimize issues that come with the pending project. The company even proposed a memorandum of understanding to provide $20 million supporting local fishermen.

“We want to work together to build our own facility out there. We want to provide long-term renewable, clean, domestic energy for the state and for the region.”