OCEAN CITY — The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) announced the dates for two virtual public hearings for proposed second phases of two offshore wind energy projects.
In 2017, the PSC approved two offshore wind energy farm projects off the coast of Ocean City including Ørsted’s Skipjack I project and US Wind’s Marwin project. Technically, the PSC awarded Offshore Renewable Energy Credits, or ORECs, to the two bid award winners.
Those projects are now going through the federal review period with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Buoyed by federal and state calls for an expansion of offshore wind energy, both Ørsted and US Wind have submitted requests for ORECs from the PSC for their second-phase projects, which, if approved, would significantly increase the number of wind turbines sited off the resort coast.
The PSC virtual hearings will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 28, and Thursday, Sept. 30, both at 6 p.m. Members of the public wishing to comment on either hearing should send an email by noon on Friday, Sept. 24, to [email protected].
Participants should indicate which day they would like to speak and will receive a link to the platform to join that day’s hearing. The hearings will also be livestreamed on the PCS’s YouTube channel.
BOEM designated a Wind Energy Area (WEA) off the coast of Ocean City of about 80,000 acres. Both of the second-phase projects would be sited in that WEA. Ørsted’s Skipjack I project would generate 120-megawatts. The proposed Skipjack II would generate 760-megawatts, or would about six times the size of the initial project.
The number of turbines for Skipjack 2 will be dependent on an award from the PSC and the size of the award, according to Ørsted officials, who also said Skipjack 2, if approved, would be sited about 20 miles off the coast of the resort. Skipjack 1 is proposed to be sited about 19.5 miles off the coast, by comparison.
Similarly, US Wind’s Marwin project would include 22 turbines. It’s proposed Momentum Wind project, for which the company has applied to the PSC for more ORECs, would include 82 turbines. The company’s already-approved MarWin project includes 22 turbines sited about 17 miles off the coast of the resort.
Throughout the lengthy approval process for the projects, Ocean City has said it supports offshore wind, but only if the turbines are sited far enough offshore they aren’t visible from the shoreline. The concern is massive turbines visible from the shoreline could impact tourism and the local economy.
