US Wind, Inc. is actively defending its multi-phase offshore wind project off the coast of Maryland and Delaware against a federal lawsuit filed by plaintiffs, including the Mayor and City Council of Ocean City, Maryland. The company, which was awarded Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Credits (ORECs) by the state of Maryland in 2017 and 2021, is developing the MarWin and Momentum Wind projects.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, challenges federal approvals for the project, with plaintiffs raising concerns under several federal statutes including the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. In a recent legal filing, US Wind submitted an Amended Answer, Cross Claim, and Counterclaim, where it responded to the allegations made in the Amended Complaint. The company has admitted to being a defendant-intervenor in the civil action and acknowledged that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and a Biological Opinion (BiOp) for the project.
Despite the legal challenges, the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, located approximately 10 nautical miles off the coast of Ocean City, has received federal approval for its Construction and Operations Plan from BOEM. The project is planned to include up to 114 wind turbine generators and is expected to power over 718,000 homes.
US Wind's plans for the project, which has been in development for about ten years, also include establishing Sparrows Point Steel, a new monopile fabrication factory, to create hundreds of jobs and boost the state's economy. The company has also made commitments to use union labor and minority-owned businesses. The project has been a source of ongoing legal battles and public debate, with Ocean City's mayor, Rick Meehan, opposing the project and rejecting a proposed community benefit package from US Wind.
