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[NOTE: This article was updated on 27 and 28 August with statements from Oceantic Network and US Wind.]
The US Department of the Interior (DOI) will seek to cancel its approval of the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) granted to US Wind for its 2 GW Maryland Offshore Wind Project last year. In a recent court filing in Delaware, it emerged that the DOI plans to move to vacate the federal approval for the project through a legal proceeding in Maryland.
In a statement to offshoreWIND.biz , Nancy Sopko , VP of External Affairs for US Wind, said: “Our construction and operations plan approval is the subject of ongoing litigation, but we remain confident that the federal permits we secured after a multi-year and rigorous public review process are legally sound.”
A spokesperson from the US offshore renewable energy organisation, Oceantic Network, said: “US Wind received their federal permits after more than four years of thorough environmental and agency review; it is legally sound. Once completed, the Maryland project and Sparrows Point Steel will enhance our national security and economic freedom by directly supporting steel mill investments and bring back important steel fabrication capabilities to America.”
US Wind acquired an 80,000-acre federal lease area off the coast of Maryland in 2014. The Maryland Offshore Wind Project consists of three planned phases. Two phases, known as MarWin and Momentum Wind, already have offshore renewable energy certificates (ORECs) from the State of Maryland.
In September last year, the DOI, through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), authorised the 2 GW Maryland Offshore Wind Project and approved its COP in December 2024 .