July 8, 2021
Maryland

Ørsted submits bid for second Maryland wind power project

Wind power expansion in Maryland would power more than 250,000 Delmarva homes, per Ørsted | Kamleshkumar Desai | Salisbury Daily Times | Jul. 8, 20221 | www.delmarvanow.com

The developer of a wind farm near Ocean City says it has submitted a bid to the Maryland Public Service Commission for a new Round 2 offshore wind project.

Ørsted said in a release that its Skipjack Wind 2 project for up to 760 megawatts will power more than 250,000 Delmarva homes.

It said the bid is in response to the Maryland commission’s call for proposals for Round 2 offshore wind projects, through which the commission can award at least 1,200 megawatts of Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Credits.

Ørsted is currently developing Skipjack Wind 1, a 120-megawatt offshore wind farm off the coast of Ocean City.

The company announced a second delay for that project in February. It is now scheduled to be operational by the second quarter of 2026.

The project was awarded during Maryland’s first offshore wind solicitation, commonly referred to as Round 1, in May 2017.

Skipjack Wind 1 will create approximately 1,400 Maryland jobs, spur at least $200 million in Maryland economic investment and generate enough clean energy to power 40,000 homes in the region, the company said.

The Skipjack Wind Farm is one of two offshore wind farms currently in development.

Both wind farms are slated to sit at least 10 miles from the Ocean City beach, with the Skipjack project residing further north toward the Delaware state line than the MarWin Wind Farm being planned by U.S. Wind.

The second delay stems from the fact that Ørsted hasn’t yet established an interconnection facility for its project, Brady Walker, Mid-Atlantic market manager for Ørsted, told Delmarva Now in February.

An interconnection facility is the site where the energy collected by the wind turbines is transported to land and then connected into the power grid.

“Ørsted is privileged to already be a long-term partner to the state of Maryland as it works to meet its offshore wind goals,” said David Hardy, CEO of Ørsted Offshore North America.

“We are proud to build, own, and operate wind farms across the world and will bring that same approach to Maryland. As such, these at least 30-year commitments we are making to the state are designed to provide long-term benefits to all of the communities that will be home to our facilities.”

Ørsted said it will host a virtual open house on July 19 at 6 p.m. to answer questions from the public about the new expanded project.

Individuals interested in attending the open house are encouraged to register by visiting this site.

Ørsted operates 28 offshore wind farms globally including America’s first offshore wind farm, the Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2021/07/08/orsted-submits-bid-for-second-maryland-wind-power-project/