When it comes to some of the headwinds facing the nascent offshore wind industry (see “Keeping Up with the Jones Act,” Site Selection, July 2024), officials from both the public and private sectors are prone to saying that the project led by the Biden Administration is simply too important to fail. In the wake of Ørsted’s recent pullback from two planned wind farms off the coast of Maryland — which it blamed on the effects of inflation, interest rates and supply chain hurdles — the Maryland Legislature and Gov. Wes Moore responded in a manner that suggests the proverbial act of squeezing lemonade from lemons.
In May, Gov. Moore signed Maryland HB 1296. Having taken effect in June, it allows the state to re-allocate Offshore Renewable Energy Credits previously awarded to Ørsted to US Wind, which is investing a projected $1.5 billion into wind energy and supply chain projects in Maryland and its offshore waters.
The legislation drew immediate praise from the Oceantic Network, an organization that works to advance offshore wind and connected supply chains. CEO Liz Burdock said that it “demonstrates Maryland’s steadfast commitment … to develop and help reset current markets.”
In a statement delivered to Site Selection, Nancy Sopko, US Wind’s senior director of external affairs, praised the action as well. “The new law is a clear signal,” Sopko says, “that offshore wind is here to stay.”
In addition to two offshore wind farms, US Wind’s commitment to wind energy projects in Maryland includes $40 million for port infrastructure upgrades, a $140 million subsea cable manufacturing facility and $150 million to develop Sparrows Point Steel, a staging project for the industry at the site of the former Bethlehem Steel plant at Baltimore’s sprawling Tradepoint Atlantic logistics facility.
In addition to producing monopile foundations and other steel components for the company’s MarWin and Momentum Wind projects off Maryland, Sparrows Point Steel is conceived as a hub for offshore wind projects up and down the East Coast.
Last November, Baltimore County and Sparrows Point Steel won a federal grant of $47 million from the U.S. Maritime Administration from the Port Infrastructure Development Program to support early works and upgrades to the site.
“We are working hard to bring offshore wind energy to Maryland and this award gives a much-needed boost to our efforts to establish an offshore wind supply chain right here in Baltimore,” said Jeff Grybowski, Sparrows Point Steel’s CEO.
Virginia Project to Bolster Supply Chain
In July, Virginia notched a huge investment geared toward supporting the offshore wind supply chain. LS Greenlink, the U.S. subsidiary of South Korea’s LS Cable, announced plans for a $681 million subsea cable manufacturing facility on 100 acres at the Deep Water Terminal Site in Chesapeake, near the Ports of Virginia. The company says the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable factory will be the largest of its kind in the country. The cables — typically consisting of a copper conductor surrounded by layers of insulation and coating — deliver electricity from offshore turbines to power stations onshore.
According to a release from Virginia Gov. Glen Youngkin, the 750,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility will create 330 full-time jobs at an average salary of around $76,000. Gov. Youngkin approved a $13.2 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist the City of Chesapeake with the project, which is also eligible to receive state benefits from The Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program. It qualified for $100 million in investment tax credits under the federal Inflation Reduction Act.
LS Greenlink reportedly scouted numerous locations along the East Coast. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the City of Chesapeake, the Hampton Roads Alliance and the Virginia Maritime Association to secure the win. Operations are expected to begin in 2027.
“In addition to the direct benefits to the Hampton Roads economy, this decision reflects our region’s desire and ability to serve as one of the primary hubs of the offshore wind industry in the U.S.,” said Doug Smith, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Alliance. “We eagerly celebrate this announcement and will continue working to grow the offshore wind industry in Hampton Roads.”
Virginia’s Atlantic waters host what is currently the country’s biggest offshore wind venture. In August, Dominion Energy’s Coastal Offshore Wind Project achieved a milestone with the installation of the 50th monopile foundation for the 2.6-gigawatt project 33 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. As Site Selection has reported, monopile installation commenced in May. The wind farm is to consist of 176 turbines that will generate enough energy to power up to 660,000 homes, according to Dominion.
Historic Investment in Delaware Port
The State of Delaware is part of a $635 million public-private partnership announced in May that’s to quadruple the capacity of the existing Port of Wilmington. The project — undertaken with the Wilmington port’s private operator Enstructure — will add a second port facility two miles away, the combined new entity to be known as Port Delaware. In addition to the four-fold expansion of the current facility’s container capacity, the project will allow for larger ships to be serviced through improvements such as deeper drafts.
According to information supplied by the office of Gov. John Carney, the expanded port — projected for completion in 2027 — will have a capacity of 1.6 million TEUs, up from the current capacity of 400,000 TEUs. It’s expected to result in the creation of 11,480 total jobs, including 6,000 during construction, while generating $76.2 million in state tax revenues.
“For decades,” said Carney in a statement, “jobs at the Port of Wilmington have been a gateway into the middle class for thousands of workers and their families — the kind of jobs our state and country were built on. This investment to expand the Port will position Delaware to compete for container cargo and larger ships. It will bring new, good-paying union jobs to Wilmington.”
Norway-based Equinor Wind and Virginia Electric and Power Co. were announced as provisional winners of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) offshore wind energy lease auction for the Central Atlantic region announced on August 14.
Equinor’s provisional lease at $75 million consists of 101,000 acres 26 nautical miles from Delaware Bay. Virginia Electric and Power’s $18 million lease encompasses 176,505 acres and is approximately 35 nautical miles from the entrance of Chesapeake Bay.
The leases, according to BOEM, do not authorize the construction or operation of an offshore wind facility, but provide the right to submit a project plan for BOEM’s review.
“Today’s lease sale represents a major milestone in meeting the demand for clean renewable energy along the East Coast,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein in a statement.
