A new bill that has been introduced in the Delaware Senate could bring US Wind’s plan to build onshore substations for its offshore wind farm(s) in Sussex County back on track. Introduced on 21 May and discussed by the Senate Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee on 2 June, the bill would void the Sussex County Council’s decision to deny US Wind’s permit to build in the county.
The developer plans to land the export cables for its 2 GW Maryland offshore wind lease area underneath 3R’s Beach parking lot in the Delaware Seashore State Park, from where they would run under the Indian River Bay and exit near the Indian River Power Plant to be connected to new US Wind substations built adjacent to an existing substation. The project would then connect to the regional electric grid at Delmarva Power and Light’s Indian River substation.
At the beginning of December 2024, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) approved three US Wind’s permit applications to connect the offshore wind project to the grid in Sussex County: Subaqueous Lands Permit, Wetlands Permit, and Beach Preservation Coastal Construction Permit.
However, on 17 December, Sussex County Council voted to deny US Wind’s conditional use permit required to build the onshore electric infrastructure at the planned site, with US Wind filing an appeal to the Delaware Superior Court the same month.
With the court ruling yet to be made, the new bill, if enacted, may allow US Wind to keep planning the construction of the onshore infrastructure in the county.
The bill ( Senate Bill no. 159 ) amends Subchapter I, Chapter 9, Title 26 of the Delaware Code relating to the public utilities to prohibit counties from denying authorisations to this kind of electrical facility that is part of a renewable energy project and is built in a heavy industrial zone. The Act would be applicable retroactively.
“This Act requires the permitting of an electric substation as an allowed conditional use in a heavy industrial zone under certain conditions set forth in the Act, including that the electrical substation is being constructed to support the operation of a proposed renewable energy generation project of 250 MW or greater”, the bill synopsis reads.
“This Act is being given retroactive effect such that, if a county has previously denied an application for an electrical substation that would meet the requirements of this Act, then the application shall be deemed granted provided that the electrical substation meets the requirements of this Act.”
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) approved the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for US Wind’s Maryland offshore wind projects in December 2024.
The development, as approved by BOEM and concerning the entire lease area, is planned to comprise up to 114 wind turbines, up to four offshore substations and four offshore export cables that run from the lease area to shore, and up to three onshore substations.
US Wind was awarded offshore wind renewable energy credits (ORECs) by the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) in 2017 and 2021, supporting more than 1,056 MW across two projects.
In July 2024, under a law introduced in May last year, US Wind filed an application to sell 6,966,836 MWh of offshore wind energy to Maryland annually.
The company’s application was approved in January this year, paving the way for US Wind to install 1,710 MW of offshore wind capacity and build the Maryland project in four phases.