With the potential to generate offshore wind power for 8.5 million homes, Maryland leads the Mid-Atlantic in bringing it to fruition. Two large areas far offshore were leased to a developer in August 2014, a year after Maryland’s state leadership added a requirement to their Renewable Portfolio Standard for a portion of the state’s electricity to come from offshore wind power.
Milestones
- May 2017: The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) granted Deepwater/Skipjack Offshore Energy and US Wind offshore wind renewable energy credits (ORECs) enabling them to move forward with their proposals to build 368 megawatts of offshore wind located off the coast of Ocean City and Delaware. Learn more.
- November 2016: The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) began the 180-day proceeding to evaluate offshore wind project proposals submitted by U.S. Wind and Deepwater Wind.
- August 2014: U.S. Wind, Inc. acquired leases for two areas of federal water about 10 miles from the Ocean City coastline that could power nearly 400,000 homes.
- April 2013: Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed the Offshore Wind Energy Act into law, which requires 200 megawatts of the state’s electricity to come from offshore wind power. Learn more.
What’s Next?
The recent PSC approval of the U.S. Wind and Deepwater/Skipjack projects puts Maryland in the running for the nation’s largest offshore wind farms. US Wind’s project is expected to come online in 2020, while Skipjack will start generating power by November of 2022. The National Wildlife Federation and our partners will be continuing work with the developers to ensure that wildlife is protected throughout the construction and operation of the projects.
Resources
- For maps and the latest updates on the federal offshore wind leasing and permitting process off the coast of Maryland, visit the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management‘s Maryland page.
- Maryland Climate Coalition’s Offshore Wind webpage
- Latest Maryland News and Blogs
