Public Comment Period Open for Proposed Maryland Offshore Wind Project Draft EIS
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced the availability of the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed Maryland Offshore Wind Project. If approved, the project could generate between 1,100 and 2,200 MW of clean, renewable energy to the Delmarva Peninsula, which could power up to 770,000 homes.
US Wind Inc. is seeking approval for the construction and operation of the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, which includes three planned phases. Two of those phases, MarWin and Momentum Wind, have offshore renewable energy certificates from the state of Maryland.
US Wind’s proposal for all three phases includes installation of up to 121 turbines, up to four offshore substation platforms, one meteorological tower, and up to four offshore export cable corridors with landfall occurring within Delaware Seashore State Park.
The lease area is approximately 8.7 nautical mi. (nm) offshore Maryland and approximately 9 nm from Sussex County, Delaware.
If approved, the development and construction phases of the project could support up to an estimated 2,679 jobs annually over seven years.
The project’s draft EIS can be found on BOEM’s website. The public comment period will end at 11:59 p.m. EST on November 20, 2023. The input received during the comment period will inform preparation of the final EIS.
BOEM will use the findings of the final EIS to inform its decision on whether to approve the project’s construction and operations Plan, and, if approved, what mitigation measures to require.