Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources (DNREC) and Environmental Control hosts another public engagement event on the state’s involvement in a developing offshore wind project.
While offshore wind development company US Wind is working with Maryland to develop a physical offshore wind farm, Delaware’s 3 Rs Beach is the proposed access point to transmit the power into the Delmarva regional grid.
US Wind’s Senior Director of External Affairs Nancy Sopko says the project would decommission the coal-fired Indian River Power Plant and upgrade the transmission system to handle the wind-generated energy.
“To coincide with the decommissioning of that power plant to put massive amounts of clean energy on the grid at that point, we think is a really positive story for Delawareans and Marylanders," Sopko said.
But Delawareans are seemingly divided on allowing the state to lease the necessary land to US Wind and allow the underground cables to go through the Indian River Bay.
Sierra Club Delaware Chapter President Dustyn Thompson says he believes the proposed route appears to be a relatively environmentally-friendly.
“They are taking a lot of steps to mitigate environmental harm in the Indian River Bay. We've got to see what that ends up looking like in the end," he said.
But Delaware resident Andrea Caggiano is worried there have not been enough studies on how the cables will impact the area’s wildlife and water quality.
“When they say it’s so clean and green, you know, at what cost? We used to call the ecosystem fragile," Caggiano said.
Wednesday’s event in Lewes was to inform the public about DNREC’s regulatory role in the project, following an open house in March that focused on the transmission line's impact to 3Rs Beach.
The public will have the opportunity to voice their thoughts during a virtual public hearing on July 9.
DNREC is in the process of reviewing four various environmental permits from US Wind, and the DNREC Secretary is expected to make a decision on awarding the land lease at the end of 2024.
