The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced that it has approved the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, marking the tenth commercial-scale offshore wind energy project to be approved under President Biden’s administration.
With this approval, the Department has greenlit over 15 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy from offshore wind projects, half of the 30-GW target set by President Biden for 2030. The projects approved so far are expected to provide power to 5.25 million homes.
“The clean energy future is now! Today’s milestone marks another giant leap toward our ambitious goal of unleashing 30 GW of offshore energy by 2030,” said Acting Deputy Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis.
She added, “Our work to approve the nation’s first ten commercial-scale offshore wind project is the result of the tenacious public servants at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to expedite the federal permitting process. Thanks to President Biden’s bold Investing in America agenda, we’re tackling climate change head-on, sparking job growth, and ensuring that every community shares in the economic opportunities of this new era.”
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The Maryland Offshore Wind Project will produce over 2 GW of clean, renewable energy for the Delmarva Peninsula, powering more than 718,000 homes.
During its development and construction phases, the project could create nearly 2,680 jobs annually over a seven-year period.
The project’s lease area is about 8.7 nautical miles off the coast of Maryland and roughly 9 nautical miles from Sussex County, Delaware, at its closest points to shore.
The project is planned in three phases and includes the installation of up to 114 wind turbines, up to four offshore substation platforms, one meteorological tower, and up to four offshore export cable corridors.
Two of these phases, MarWin and Momentum Wind, have already received offshore renewable energy certificates from the State of Maryland.
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During his first week in office, President Biden issued an Executive Order to build a new American infrastructure and clean energy economy, focusing on expanding opportunities for the offshore wind industry.’
The administration set an ambitious target of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind capacity in the US by 2030.
Achieving this goal is expected to attract over $12 billion annually in capital investment for projects along US coastlines, create tens of thousands of well-paying union jobs, and employ more than 44,000 workers in the offshore wind sector by 2030, with nearly 33,000 additional jobs in communities benefiting from offshore wind activities.
 This expansion will provide enough energy to power over 10 million American homes annually and reduce CO2 emissions by 78 million metric tons.