The US Department of the Interior has announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will conduct an environmental review of the first proposed wind energy project off Maryland.
This week, the department will publish a Notice of Intent (NoI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) submitted by US Wind for an up to 2GW project.
It will be the tenth offshore wind energy COP review initiated under the Biden-Harris administration.
“President Biden has set the bar high for a clean energy future with ambitious offshore wind goals that will lower costs for families, create nearly 80,000 good paying jobs and make substantive progress as we work to confront the climate crisis,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.
“The Department of the Interior is continuing to meet the moment as part of this Administration’s all-of-government approach to addressing the climate crisis, which includes early and ongoing engagement with nearby communities.”
The lease area is approximately 10 nautical miles off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland, and approximately nine nautical miles offshore Sussex County, Delaware.
If approved, the development and construction phases of the US Wind project could support around 2500 jobs annually over seven years, the developer said.
The publication of the NoI opens a 30-day public comment period through 8 July 2022 as part of the process to help BOEM determine the scope of its environmental review.
Highlights from US Wind’s proposal include the installation of up to 121 turbines, up to four offshore substation platforms, one meteorological tower and up to four offshore export cable corridors, which are planned to make landfall at 3 R’s Beach or Tower Road in the Delaware Seashore State Park in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
The NoI public comment period will help identify what BOEM should consider as part of its environmental review of US Wind’s COP.