US Wind begins discussion of potential benefits with local coastal towns
US Wind Inc. announced Dec. 29 that it has formally presented to the Delaware-based Association of Coastal Towns a package of proposed community benefits. The ACT communities of Henlopen Acres, Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Bethany Beach and South Bethany have begun to evaluate the offer and will proceed with discussions through their respective public meeting processes.
US Wind, a leading offshore wind developer in Delmarva, controls the rights to an 80,000-acre lease area located off the coast of Delmarva, which is able to support approximately 2,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management recently issued a draft Environmental Impact Statement assessing the potential impacts from developing the lease area, and US Wind’s plans to mitigate or avoid those impacts. BOEM is expected to issue a decision to approve or disapprove those plans by late 2024.
US Wind has two contracted projects – MarWin and Momentum Wind – designed to deliver almost 1,100 MW of clean energy, and excess capacity in the lease area to accommodate a third project, not yet defined. The community benefits package proposal includes a stream of annual payments over 20 years, potentially worth $2 million to each town. The payments would begin if and when US Wind begins construction on its first project, MarWin.
“We expect to deliver clean offshore wind power to the Delmarva region for a long time,” said Jeffrey Grybowski, US Wind CEO. “As a member of this community, we believe it’s important to do what we can to help it thrive. These coastal towns are important to the state of Delaware and beloved by those who enjoy them. US Wind is committed to contributing to their continued health and resilience.”
US Wind’s projects are likely to be among the first wind projects in operation in the mid-Atlantic. As planned, they will sell carbon-free power into the regional power grid, and this new source of power generation is projected by US Wind to lower regional energy prices and capacity charges by up to $253 million over 20 years. US Wind will also invest more than $200 million in transmission system upgrades, most of which will occur in Sussex County.
