How Delaware Will Benefit from Offshore Wind

BY CHRIS BASON

As America’s offshore wind industry advances, the State of Delaware has taken important steps this year to ensure its businesses and workers enjoy the industry’s immense benefits.

As the U.S. offshore wind leader, Orsted is playing a central role in creating an “American-made industry” across the U.S., featuring offshore wind steel components, assembly centers, maintenance facilities, bespoke service vessels, and more.

Consider our recent progress:

• Our South Fork Wind Farm off New York’s coast is now under construction to deliver renewable energy to 70,000 homes in the northeast while creating hundreds of local jobs for New Yorkers.

• In Connecticut, our Revolution Wind  project received approval from the U.S. Department of Interior, and we’ve begun onshore construction. Revolution Wind will also create hundreds of jobs and apprenticeships, improve local port infrastructure and supply chains, and protect native species and ecosystems across the state.

• In Maryland, we forged a $72  million partnership with Crystal Steel on the Maryland/Delaware line to supply prefabricated steel components to use across our U.S. project portfolio. We are also enabling Maryland’s first offshore wind advanced foundation component center at Tradepoint Atlantic in Baltimore, creating 145 local jobs.

• And in Louisiana, more than 400 workers are building the ECO Edison, America’s first offshore wind service operation vessel that will be servicing offshore wind projects for decades to come.

From welders and electricians to engineers and turbine technicians, the offshore wind industry is powering promising careers for thousands of American workers.

What does this mean for Delaware?

We believe the First State has a strong opportunity to join this growing offshore wind supply chain and make this clean, domestic source of energy a big part of its future.

During the first half of this year’s legislative session, lawmakers enacted the Offshore Wind Transmission and Procurement Planning Act. The law commissions a joint study with PJM, the regional electric grid operator serving Delaware and other states, on the local transmission impacts of offshore wind development.

The State is also developing a plan for the potential procurement of offshore wind power and has backed a goal to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, creating an even greater incentive for local clean energy development.

Orsted is excited to be developing Skipjack Wind, a 966-megawatt offshore wind project off the Delaware coast that will power nearly 300,000 homes in the region with renewable energy. Skipjack Wind will create hundreds of jobs in Delaware as we make significant investments in modernizing the local electric grid and associated energy infrastructure. This will be a direct injection of capital into the Delaware economy, creating good-paying jobs for Delaware workers. Skipjack Wind will also benefit our environment, as the renewable energy we produce offsets millions of tons of carbon dioxide pollution.

As a lifelong Delawarean, I firmly believe offshore wind will strengthen our economy and our environment. Delaware businesses are encouraged to register at www.orstedprocurement.com to be identified for potential contracting opportunities with Skipjack Wind, Orsted’s broader U.S. portfolio, and the suppliers that are delivering our nation’s offshore wind farms and grid-modernization projects.

Chris Bason is Orsted’s stakeholder relations lead for Delaware.