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The Danish offshore wind developer 脴rsted announced Wednesday that it has submitted a bid to generate up to 760 megawatts of power with a proposed second offshore wind project off the coast of Maryland.聽
The project, called Skipjack Wind 2, is in response to the Maryland Public Service Commission鈥檚 call for proposals for a second round of offshore wind projects in federal waters off the Maryland coast.聽
The聽expanded Maryland鈥檚 renewable portfolio standard to require that utilities get 50% of the electricity they sell to consumers from renewable sources by 2030. More specifically, it directed the Public Service Commission 鈥� which regulates the state鈥檚 energy utilities 鈥� to find 鈥淩ound 2鈥� offshore wind projects that could provide at least 1,200 megawatts of power by 2030.聽
The application period for this round closed on June 21, and the PSC鈥檚 consultant, ICF, has 30 days to review applications. The bids are confidential until then, according to Tori Leonard, spokeswoman for the PSC. It is unclear if any other companies besides 脴rsted have submitted a bid for this round of offshore wind projects.聽
After the consultant reports to the PSC, the commission will review all applications and award offshore renewable energy credits to a project or projects for this round by Dec. 18, Leonard said.聽
脴rsted鈥檚 new project proposal would power over 250,000 homes in the Delmarva Peninsula, according to the company鈥檚 announcement.聽
鈥溍榬sted is privileged to already be a long-term partner to the state of Maryland as it works to meet its offshore wind goals,鈥� David Hardy, CEO of 脴rsted Offshore North America, said in a statement.聽
鈥淲e are proud to build, own, and operate wind farms across the world and will bring that same approach to Maryland. As such, these at least 30-year commitments we are making to the state are designed to provide long-term benefits to all of the communities that will be home to our facilities. In continuing to deliver on our commitments now, and well into the future, we will ensure that Maryland鈥檚 offshore wind industry will thrive for decades to come,鈥� he continued.聽
In 2013, the General Assembly passed legislation enabling offshore wind development and the Maryland PSC was designated by the federal government to award leases for offshore wind developments in federal waters. The commission finally聽聽two projects off the coast of Ocean City in 2017.聽
脴rsted is in the middle of developing one of these projects, called Skipjack Wind 1, which is to the north of Ocean City and about 19 miles off the coast. It could power 40,000 homes in the Delmarva Peninsula and is slated to start operating by 2026, company officials have said.聽
This project is currently under review for final approval by the federal government, as is the MarWin project by US Wind, which would generate 240 megawatts of power 鈥� enough to power almost 80,000 for a year. It is 17 miles off the coast of Maryland and tentatively slated to start operating in 2024.聽
These projects would run cables under the ocean, connect to the electric grid on land and provide electricity to Maryland utilities, helping the state depend less on fossil fuels and reach its goal of net-zero emissions by 2045.聽
Both projects have聽聽in Ocean City, particularly among political and business leaders who believe views of wind turbines from the beach could hurt tourism and the real estate industry. But many other leaders in Delmarva believe the wind industry could be a powerful economic driver for the region.
脴rsted said it would host a virtual open house on its proposal to build a second phase of the offshore wind project on the evening of July 19.
