Advocating for Offshore Wind in Delaware
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Delaware Offshore Wind Events
World Environment Day, Delaware River and Bay Authority (tabling)
Thursday, June 5, 2025, 10-2
Veterans Memorial Park, 163 Cherry Lane, New Castle, DE (Just across the Delaware Memorial Bridge)
Offshore Wind Panel Discussion, sponsored by Sierra Club, Delaware
Participants will include Christophe Tulou, Center for Inland Bays; Mike Dunmyer, US Wind; Evan Vaughn, MAREC (Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition); Danielle Swallow, RASCL (Resilient and Sustainable Communities)
Monday, June 16th, 2025, 6:30 to 8 pm
Lewes Public Library, 111 Adams Avenue, Lewes, DE
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What’s New: Offshore Wind in Delaware
Federal administration walks back on its work stoppage of huge New York offshore wind project. May 19, 2025
The Trump administration had issued a highly unusual stop-work order on the Empire Wind project last month, leading to intense pushback from officials in New York.
US Wind to provide $20 million in aid to eastern shore Maryland fishermen. May 15, 2025
US Wind, Inc. said in a May 14 news release that it has proposed $20 million to support commercial fishing under memoranda of understanding reached with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
Delaware Attorney General joins 17 states to challenge federal offshore wind permitting shutdowns. May 5, 2025
Delaware has joined a lawsuit claiming the Trump Administration is unlawfully attempting to freeze the development of wind power projects.
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%.