In Maryland, four offshore wind projects have received approval from the state’s Public Service Commission. Baltimore-based U.S. Wind is developing the 22-turbine MarWin and 55-turbine Momentum Wind projects. Danish energy giant rsted is building the 9-turbine Skipjack 1 and the 60-turbine Skipjack 2 projects.
All four projects are slated to be operating by 2026, though none have started construction yet. Each of the Maryland developers is building its own transmission lines, which carry wind power produced by offshore turbines to the land-based grid — a crucial yet expensive addition that involves temporarily disturbing the seafloor.
Maryland’s POWER Act intends to simplify the process by establishing shared transmission infrastructure to help reduce the cost and environmental impacts of future offshore wind farms. The idea is to create something like a “giant power strip” to which multiple projects can connect, Jamie DeMarco of Chesapeake Climate Action Network told the Baltimore Banner news website.
The legislation also aims to “strengthen labor standards” for offshore wind manufacturing, installation and maintenance work and provide well-paying union jobs. That will include new positions at Sparrows Point Steel, the former home of Bethlehem Steel that’s being transformed into the state’s offshore wind manufacturing factory. Late last month, U.S. Wind and Haizea Wind Group announced plans to make steel components for turbine towers and foundations at the Baltimore County facility.
Still, even as the U.S. offshore wind industry hits new milestones, developers continue to face several headwinds that threaten to slow the pace of projects.
Republican lawmakers and conservative organizations, in Maryland and nationwide, are mounting renewed opposition to offshore wind, citing concerns — for which there is no supporting evidence — that the coastal projects have led to recent whale deaths. Beyond politics, developers face a slew of supply-chain challenges, including the rising price of steel, that are raising costs and slowing construction timelines. The nation’s lack of port and vessel infrastructure needed to service offshore wind farms could further delay projects in coming years.
On that last point, however, the industry is making important, if incremental, gains.
In Louisiana, the shipbuilding giant Edison Chouest Offshore is assembling a 260-foot-long vessel that will serve as a floating house and warehouse for technicians as they build and maintain offshore wind farms in the U.S. Northeast. The ship is being built for rsted and Eversource, a New England energy provider, which are jointly developing the South Fork Wind farm in New York.
Last week, Edison Chouest announced that the U.S.-flagged vessel, named Eco Edison, had reached 50-percent completion. Edison Chouset, rsted and Eversource said they expect to christen the ship in 2024.