US Wind Farm Project: Of No Benefit to Delaware
By: Jane Brady, Chair, A Better Delaware
Recently, a lot has happened in the world of energy, and especially, in the world of offshore wind.
As you may be aware, US Wind has proposed an offshore wind project for the State of Maryland, that has been supported by the Maryland legislature. The citizens of Maryland, particularly the Eastern Shore, are not so sure. When no town or county in Maryland would allow US Wind to bring the transmission lines from the towers in the ocean ashore in Maryland, Governor John Carney offered part of our Seashore State Park, at 3Rs Road as a siting location. US Wind then proposed to bring the transmission lines from the towers to a substation on the Indian River Bay by running the lines under the beach, Route 1, the Bay and through the wetlands to a substation they proposed to build on the shore next to the existing power plant.
As a result of the Governor’s decision to engage with the project, US Wind made application to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) for permits to enter the beach area and establish connections underground there and to take the transmission lines under the Bay and through the wetlands. On December 9, Secretary Garvin announced the permits had been granted. Litigation is being filed with the Superior Court and before the Environmental Appeals Board to challenge those permits for a number of reasons, including that the permits did not include information required by law and regulation, were not complete, and the public did not get to review and comment on much of what the Secretary considered in making his decision.
A week later, a matter relating to the US Wind Maryland Project (as US Wind has titled this proposal) was before the Sussex County Council.
To build the substation, US Wind needed approval from Sussex County to authorize a zoning change to allow for a conditional use of the parcel. This week, Sussex County Council denied US Wind’s request. The Commissioners (4-1) ruled that there are no or few benefits to Sussex County (no jobs, no electricity, etc.) and yet Sussex County assumed all of the burden and liability for the destruction of our ecology. The Indian River Bay is one of the top 20 most important estuaries in the country.
The implications of drilling under our Bay, putting huge electromagnetic fields in the waters where fish and clams spawn, and into this unique aquatic habitat are significant and even DNREC concedes the damage to the Bay will be permanent. Both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Marine Fisheries Service recommended against going under the Bay. It is anticipated that US Wind will appeal that decision.
There is also, of course, a lot of speculation about the future of offshore wind at the national level that may affect this, and other projects.
This project is entirely intended to benefit Maryland. US Wind needs to find an alternative to coming into Delaware to then take the electric generated by the project to Maryland customers. Maryland and US Wind need to find a resolution to the issue, not Delaware. For US Wind, finding that resolution is the cost of doing business.
Delaware should stand strong on this issue. We gain no benefits from assuming the risk attendant to this Maryland project and should act as good stewards of the precious resources we possess that are important to more than just Delaware’s citizens – they are important to the region and the country.
Jane Brady serves as Chair of A Better Delaware. She previously served as Attorney General of Delaware and as a Judge of the Delaware Superior Court.