Advocating for Offshore Wind in Delaware
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Delaware Offshore Wind Events
Wilmington Arbor Day (tabling)
Thursday, April 17, 2025, from 11am to 2pm
Cool Spring Reservoir, 11th and Franklin St., Wilmington
Safeguarding Delaware Families
“System Thinking in Delaware”
Monday, April 21, 2025, 8:30-11(?)
Keynote speaker: Dr. Pamela McElwee, Distringuished Professor of Human Ecology, Rutgers
Delaware Historical Society, 505 N. Market St., Wilmington
By invitation only; email us for permission to attend.
“Safeguarding Coastal Families”
Friday, April 25, 2025, 10-12 noon
Replay of Monday keynote speaker, followed by commentary of local climate leaders.
Free, public invited.
Unitarian Universalist Church, 30486 Lewes Georgetown Hwy, Lewes
“Shifting Sands,” Environmental Sustainability Summit
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Speakers include Anne Therese Gennari (keynote), Ron Calef, Susan Love, Greg Patterson, Sen. Stephanie Hanson, Chris Bason, Drew Slater
Cost: $95
Hyatt Place, Lighthouse Cove Event Center
1301 Coastal Hwy, Dewey Beach, DE 19971
Register Now
UD Ag Day (tabling)
Saturday, April 26, 2025, from 10 to 3
U.D. agriculture complex, S. College St., Newark
Oceantic International Partnering Forum Conference (on offshore wind)
April 28-May 1, 2025, in Virginia Beach, Virginia
Cost for non-members is $2,195
Possibility for offshore wind turbines tour
Register Now
What’s New: Offshore Wind in Delaware
The White House calls a halt to all new offshore wind, January 20, 2025
Calls for a review of offshore wind projects fully permitted and ready to construct. The “review” directive may affect the US Wind projects for Maryland that are planned for off the Delaware coast.
US Wind appeals county rejection of substation, January 14, 2025
Council voted against conditional use that would pave the way for offshore wind connection.
State benefits package with US Wind is formalized, January 10, 2025
Caesar Rodney Institute appeals DNREC’s approval, Bintz appeal hearing set for Jan. 28.
Sussex County Council rejects US Wind’s application for a conditional use for a substation, December 17, 2024
Company’s subsidiary planned to connect to grid near Indian River power plant.
Delaware Offshore Wind Facts
Jobs
Where there’s an offshore wind project there will be jobs.
These jobs can be sorted into three categories: Direct (construction, engineering, etc.), Indirect (food trucks, manufacture of turbine components), and Operations and Maintenance (ongoing maintenance). If the project site is off the coast of Delaware, Delawareans will be able to apply for jobs in all three categories.
Health
There are health and climate benefits of offshore wind facilities in the mid-Atlantic United States.
Electricity from fossil fuels contributes substantially to both climate change and the health burden of air pollution.
Climate Change
Climate change is speeding toward catastrophe, UN panel says.
A new report says it is still possible to hold global warming to relatively safe levels, but doing so will require global cooperation, billions of dollars and big changes.
Fishing
Sports fishermen off Block Island, RI, find that the underwater structures of offshore wind turbines enhance fishing. Commercial fishermen have concerns.
The data shows that recreational anglers fare well near offshore wind turbines. Some commercial fishermen are troubled by the location of offshore wind turbines and the possibility of tangling their gear on the turbine underwater structures.
Tourism/Public Perception
Polls, visual simulations, research flesh out the picture of public reaction/response to offshore wind.
Delaware offshore wind developer specialists have worked out how an offshore wind farm will look under varying conditions, showing simulations to illustrate their point.
Siting
Making landfall and lining up and/or building facilities that will attach the offshore power to the onshore grid is a concern of Delawareans.
All of this onshore infrastructure activity is usually subsumed under the heading of “Siting.”
BOEM Lease Areas
View Bureau of Ocean Energy Management maps of the area off Delaware’s coast, and learn about BOEM hearings. What has POWER said at the hearings? What are DNREC’s comments?
BOEM controls all offshore wind activity 3 miles from the shore out to the edge of territorial waters.That is the area where offshore wind projects will be located. All federal permits required of offshore wind developers are handled by BOEM.
Birds
“Wind energy can be a powerful factor in protecting the birds that we love,” says the Audubon Society. Read about guidelines for protecting seafaring birds.
Bird lovers want to see birds protected, fearing deadly collisions. Climate change is an even greater threat, you will read.
Marine Mammals
There are no data or evidence linking whale mortalities to any one specific factor, including offshore wind development.
NOAA, the Marine Mammal Commission, and the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management all find no connection between whale strandings and offshore wind.
Recycling
85-90% of a wind turbine can be recycled, according to the U.S. Dept. of Energy.
Recycling materials in decommissioned turbines saves energy and diverts waste from landfills. Learn about progress being made in recycling the remaining 10-15%.