OCEAN CITY – Officials say delays involving a land swap between the town and Delmarva Power continue.
During the public comment portion of Monday’s Mayor and Council meeting, Old Landing Road resident Martin Branigan requested an update on a land swap that is set to occur in the area of 100th Street, near the public library. He said he was also seeking information on when the construction of a battery station would take place.
“My condo association would like to have an update on the property transfer for the battery center, and if there’s a timetable for beginning construction,” he said.
Last year, the council approved a pair of ordinances facilitating the land swap between the town and Delmarva Power.
Simply put, the utility company owns the northerly lot at 100th Street, while Ocean City owns an adjacent lot of a similar size immediately to the south. As part of the land swap, the town would acquire the northerly parcel – which is contiguous with other town-owned property – while Delmarva Power would acquire the southerly parcel for the installation of a battery energy storage system (BESS).
Officials have argued the swap would be beneficial to both the town and the utility company, as a BESS would provide a fallback energy source in the resort during times of peak energy use. Uptown residents, however, have voiced their concerns about the aesthetic impact of the above-ground battery field and potential health risks.
In an update provided to the public in January, City Solicitor Heather Stansbury said the town had encountered delays regarding the land swap but that those issues were being worked through and could be resolved by late spring at the earliest.
Responding to Branigan’s inquiry on Monday, City Manager Terry McGean said those delays continue, as Delmarva Power works with its bank to make the land swap a reality.
“We are still about three to four months out with that …,” he said. “They take all of their property and they have, for lack of a better word, a giant mortgage. So all of their properties are listed as collateral with the bank they use. This came up at the last minute. They now have to get permission from their bank to do this land swap, and it’s a large bank with a big bureaucracy.”
He continued, “So it’s still going forward, the battery project. We don’t know the construction date, but the land swap itself is going to be another three or four months out.”
When asked if construction of the BESS would likely take place in 2024, McGean said it would.
“I would say that’s fair,” he replied.
