US Wind seeking public comment for offshore wind construction
DELMARVA – US Wind is now one step closer to building wind turbines on the shore of Maryland.
A draft impact plan will be released this week which leads the way to starting the project’s construction in 2025. “It would allow US Wind to build up to 121 wind turbines in our lease area offshore,” said Laurie Jodziewicz, Senior Director of Environmental Affairs, at US Wind, Inc.
US Wind is now one step closer to building turbines along the North Atlantic coast, a measure they say isn’t only better for the environment, but also better for the shore economy. “It will be a significant benefit to the region by providing clean renewable energy for the region. There’s a lot of economic benefits with standing up a new industry like offshore winds with both work, jobs that would be involved with operating the project, maintaining the project as well as getting them out to the construction area,” said Jodziewicz.
The wind turbines would impact New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia by placing infrastructure offshore along the coast. “Those wind turbines would have offshore sub-stations that’d be connected with cables and then those cables would connect to the beach location,” explained Jodziewicz.
Some beach communities, like Ocean City, are not looking forward to the turbines. “We’re hoping they’re not going to be off the coast of the Ocean City Beach. I think you see more and more jurisdictions up and down the Atlantic coast that are having opposition to the turbines, in particular, the location of where they’re being placed so close to shoreline,” said Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan.
US Wind understands there is some opposition and encourages the public to come forward with their comments for that matter. “We really welcome the review, we’ve spent a lot of time putting together all of this information about the project as well as doing years of surveys, analysis, and reports to be able to provide as much information as we can,” said Jodziewicz.
The public comment period will be open on October 6th, giving locals a chance to submit comments and attend the in-person meeting. US Wind will also need more permits from both states to carry out the entire project. They estimate getting the permits by the end of 2024 and starting construction in 2025.
