Description
US Wind holds the lease rights to a federal lease area miles off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland. The lease area, about 80,000 acres in size, has the capacity to generate about 1,800 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind energy, which is enough clean electricity to power more than half a million homes each year.
The first phase of US Wind’s lease area, Maryland Offshore Wind (MarWin), is an offshore wind facility that will deliver approximately 300 MW of clean, renewable electricity to Maryland by constructing 22 Haliade-X turbines or less more than 20 miles from shore. Generating 300 MW of offshore wind energy will power more than 92,000 homes for a year. Expected to start generating clean energy in 2025, the MarWin offshore wind farm will also boost Maryland’s economy by supporting more than 1,300 local jobs and investing over $75 million in Maryland ports.
Location
The MarWin project will be located 21 km from the Maryland coast. It will have an installation base in Baltimore, Maryland and a grid connection point at the Indian River power plant in Millsboro, Delaware.
Licensing Information
- 2023, April: Incidental Take Application deemed complete by NOAA
- 2022, October: Obstruction Evaluation/Airport Airspace Analysis filed with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
- 2022, August: OCS Clean Air Act Permit submitted with Maryland Department of Environment (MDE)
- 2022, July: Individual Permit, Section 10 Permit (Navigable Waters), and Section 404 Permit submitted with United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
- 2022, July: Incidental Harassment Authorization submitted with National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)-NOAA Fisheries
Project Timeline
- 2025, October: Anticipated Power Generation Start
- 2025, April: Anticipated Offshore Construction Start
- 2022, June: Section 106 Review/Consultation with SHPO/THPO Initiated
- 2021, December: Offtake Conditionally Secured
- 2021, May: Site Assessment Plan (SAP) Approved
- 2020, August: Consent Application Submitted
- 2020, July: Construction and Operations Plan (COP) Submitted
- 2016, January: Site Assessment Plan (SAP) Submitted
- 2015, August: Initial Interconnection Request Submitted
- 2014, August: Site Exclusivity Obtained
- 2014, July: Final Sale Notice (FSN) Issued
Key Environmental Issues
US Wind conducts wildlife studies and surveys to supplement and complement existing research by agencies and academic institutions like the Bureau of Ocean Management (BOEM), UMCES, and Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
For example, US Wind recently partnered with University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) on two efforts to further understand whale presence in the Lease area and potential impacts. These include a real-time whale detection system to provide timely alerts on the presence of baleen whales (North Atlantic right whales, and humpback, fin and sei whales) using specialized quiet mooring technology, whale vocalization detection algorithms, and telecommunications to transmit frequent alerts on the presence of baleen whales. A Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) Array will also utilize two types of listening devices to determine the presence and migration patterns of large whales, dolphins, and porpoises.
US Wind is also conducting an additional avian monitoring program to confirm earlier conclusions about risks and potential impacts. The avian monitoring program is comprised of data collection from sensors on the Metocean Buoy deployed by US Wind in May 2021, as well as pre- and post-construction aerial surveys over the Lease area, including a 10-kilometer buffer.
US Wind has released fact sheets with additional information on how they plan to protect marine mammals, wildlife, and birds before, during, and after construction.
Metadata Documents
Environmental Papers and Reports
- Maryland Offshore Wind Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) (BOEM Office of Renewable Energy Programs 2023)
- Maryland Offshore Wind Construction and Operations Plan: Appendix II E1 - Essential Fish Habitat Assessment (TRC 2023)
- Maryland Offshore Wind Construction and Operations Plan (TRC 2023)
- Maryland Offshore Wind Public Scoping Report (BOEM Office of Renewable Energy Programs 2022)
- Maryland Offshore Wind Construction and Operations Plan: Appendix II H1 - Underwater Acoustic Assessment (Marine Acoustics 2022)
- Maryland Offshore Wind Construction and Operations Plan: Appendix II N2 - Avian Monitoring Plan (Normandeau Associates Inc 2022)
- Maryland Offshore Wind Construction and Operations Plan: Appendix II N1 - Avian Risk Assessment (ESS Group 2021)
- Maryland Offshore Wind Construction and Operations Plan: Appendix II F2 - Fisheries Assessment Report (Sea Risk Solutions 2021)
- Maryland Offshore Wind Construction and Operations Plan: Appendix II F1 - Fisheries Communication Plan (Sea Risk Solutions 2021)
- Maryland Offshore Wind Construction and Operations Plan: Appendix II D1-Indian River Bay Benthic Report (ESS Group 2019)
- Maryland Offshore Wind Construction and Operations Plan: Appendix II D2- Offshore Benthic Report (ESS Group 2019)
- Maryland Offshore Wind Construction and Operations Plan: Appendix II D3- SAP Area Benthic Assessment Report (ESS Group 2015)
Environmental Monitoring: Maryland Offshore Wind (MarWin)
| Phase | Stressor & Receptor | Design and Methods | Results | Publications | Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | Reptiles, Sea Turtles | Sea Turtle Survey HD digital aerial and boat-based surveys were conducted in the US Wind project area between 2012 and 2014. Observer based aerial surveys were conducted monthly between 2013 and 2015. US Wind conducted preliminary geotechnical and geophysical surveys within the lease area in 2015-2017. | Complete The following sea turtle species were found to be common within the project area: loggerhead turtle and leatherback turtle. | TRC 2023 | No data publicly available |
| Baseline | Birds | Bird Survey In 2019, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control began colonial nesting waterbird surveys in Rehoboth Bay. Locations for the surveys were selected based on historic breeding records for species of the greatest conservation need. | Complete
Surveyors counted birds, including laughing gulls, herring gulls, great black-backed gulls, great egrets and Forster’s tern, from the water using spotting scopes or binoculars during the April – September time period. Wading birds, saltmarsh perching birds, and birds of prey that may overwinter in the US Wind project area may potentially be impacted by activities that are scheduled to occur in winter months. | TRC 2023 | No data publicly available |
| Baseline | Birds | Bird Assessment The assessment of geographic and behavioral exposure relied on data from a project conducted between 2012 and 2014. To supplement these surveys, an expansion of the study area in 2013 to collect additional baseline data on wildlife abundance and distribution in and around the Maryland wind energy area. | Complete The surveys resulted in thousands of observations of dozens of avian species over the two-year study period. Species with seasonal occurrence in the project area which were found to have the highest risk of geographic, behavioral, and displacement exposure due to the project were: alcids, gannets, grebes, gulls and terns, jaegers and skuas, loons, sea ducks, shearwaters and fulmars, and storm-petrels. | ESS Group 2021 | No data publicly available |
| Baseline | Fish | Finfish and Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Surveys US Wind deployed a buoy within the lease area for a planned 2-year metocean data collection campaign during the site assessment term of the lease. The buoy and its associated seabed mounted Trawl Resistant Bottom Mount (TRBM) are equipped with a suite of wildlife monitoring sensors. This includes a fish telemetry receiver within the TRBM that records detections of previously tagged fish species within the lease area. | Ongoing Bottom trawl surveys between 2003-2012 demonstrated a large seasonal shift in demersal species. Catches in the fall (September to October) primarily consisted of seasonally migratory species including Atlantic croaker, weakfish, spot, and northern sea robin. Spring catches (March) were dominated by little skate, smallmouth flounder, and spotted hake. Results of 2016-2018 tri-annular trawl surveys showed that Atlantic sturgeon occurred extensively in the lease area. | TRC 2023, TRC 2023 | No data publicly available |
| Baseline | Invertebrates | Benthic Surveys A survey of benthic resources (focused on six locations within the US Wind project area) was conducted in July 2015, September 2016, and October 2017. The benthic field survey was composed of two elements, including 1) collection of still images and video of the seafloor and 2) collection of benthic grab samples for laboratory analysis of taxonomic composition. | Complete 2016 benthic imagery obtained indicated the presence of at least eight macrofaunal taxa: sea stars, rock crabs, tube anemones, sand dollars, hydrozoans, moon snails, hermit crabs, and bristle worms. In 2015 grab samples nineteen species of benthic fauna were observed. | TRC 2023, ESS Group 2019, ESS Group 2019, ESS Group 2015 | No data publicly available |
| Baseline | Marine Mammals | Marine Mammal Surveys
HD digital aerial surveys and boat-based surveys were conducted between 2012 and 2014 across a 13,245 square km study area off the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Observer based aerial surveys were conducted monthly between 2013 and 2015. An ambient noise level study was conducted between November 2014 and January 2017. US Wind conducted preliminary geotechnical and geophysical surveys within the lease area in 2015-2017. US Wind has deployed a buoy within the lease area for a planned 2-year metocean data collection campaign during the site assessment term of the lease. | Ongoing The following marine mammal species were found to be common within the project area: North Atlantic right whale, fin whale, humpback whale, minke whale, bottlenose dolphin, and short-beaked common dolphin. | TRC 2023 | No data publicly available |
| Construction, Operations | Displacement Birds | Avian Monitoring Plan
Between April 2012 and April 2014, the Department of Energy and Maryland state funded 16 boat-based surveys and 15 aerial digital surveys whose geographic scope included the US Wind lease area. The resulting data was reviewed to ascertain baseline conditions for birds for the site. Future aerial digital surveys will be focused on the months when species of interest occur. Additional sensors are attached to US Wind’s buoy and trawl-resistant bottom mount which include very high frequency receivers and nanotag antennas. These additions will provide information on tagged birds as they fly through the region. | Ongoing Results pending | Normandeau Associates Inc 2022 | No data publicly available |
| Construction, Operations | Displacement Fish | Fishery Monitoring Plan Survey vessels gathered geophysical and geotechnical data via sounding, seafloor imaging, sub bottom profiling, sediment samples, and benthic grab samples within the US Wind lease area in spring 2021 through 2022. In May and June 2021, a data collection buoy was deployed to collect long term data. | Ongoing US Wind will continue to engage with commercial fisheries in the lease area. | Sea Risk Solutions 2021, Sea Risk Solutions 2021 | No data publicly available |
| Construction | Collision Bats | Bat Survey
US Wind deployed a buoy within the lease area for a planned 2-year metocean data collection campaign during the site assessment term of the lease. The buoy is equipped with a bat acoustic sensor which monitors the nocturnal calls of migrating bat species. The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control collected acoustic data in the Indian River Bay area between 2019 and 2021 during the summer breeding season. US Wind deployed acoustic detectors on the vessels engaged in completing the 2021 HRG and geotechnical survey campaigns all around the lease area and all along the Offshore Export Cable Corridors. | Ongoing
Acoustic surveys between 2019-2021 estimated a 90-100% likelihood that Myotis were present in 2020. Recent studies indicated twelve presumed eastern red bats via visual observation in the month of September off the coast of New Jersey, Delaware, and Virginia. Buoy data will be used to assess the presence of bats within the lease area. | TRC 2023 | No data publicly available |
| Construction, Operations | Displacement Birds | Avian Monitoring Plan
Between April 2012 and April 2014, the Department of Energy and Maryland state funded 16 boat-based surveys and 15 aerial digital surveys whose geographic scope included the US Wind lease area. The resulting data was reviewed to ascertain baseline conditions for birds for the site. Future aerial digital surveys will be focused on the months when species of interest occur. Additional sensors are attached to US Wind’s buoy and trawl-resistant bottom mount which include very high frequency receivers and nanotag antennas. These additions will provide information on tagged birds as they fly through the region. | Ongoing Results pending | Normandeau Associates Inc 2022 | No data publicly available |
| Construction, Operations | Displacement Fish | Fishery Monitoring Plan Survey vessels gathered geophysical and geotechnical data via sounding, seafloor imaging, sub bottom profiling, sediment samples, and benthic grab samples within the US Wind lease area in spring 2021 through 2022. In May and June 2021, a data collection buoy was deployed to collect long term data. | Ongoing US Wind will continue to engage with commercial fisheries in the lease area. | Sea Risk Solutions 2021, Sea Risk Solutions 2021 | No data publicly available |