BETHANY BEACH, DE - The continued debate over offshore wind power has resurfaced in Sussex County, with discussions centering on the proposal to bring power lines ashore at 3Rs Beach in Delaware Seashore State Park. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) hosted an informational session on the project in Bethany Beach tonight, drawing dozens of protestors on both sides of the issue. The scene outside the event was marked by a sea of signs, with supporters and opponents of the project making their voices heard.
The focus of the meeting was the plan to bring power cables ashore at 3Rs Beach, just north of Bethany Beach, from US Wind's MarWin and Momentum Wind offshore farms.
DNREC presented potential construction plans, which included a temporary shutdown of 3Rs Beach in the off-season and the installation of eight manholes in the parking lot post-construction. They also presented images of what construction would look like as it is in progress.
However, protestors like David Stevenson from the Caesar Rodney Institute expressed strong opposition to the project, and says DNREC isn't doing enough to address the larger issues,
"This is a Maryland Project and we should not be allowing this in Delaware waters," Stevenson said. "We should not be approving this with the damage it's gonna do. DNREC is trying to make it look like a little puny impact on the beach — and they're ignoring the great impact of what's going on with the wind turbines."
Ray Bivens, Director of Delaware State Parks, emphasized the importance of hearing public feedback but clarified that their scope is limited to the parks themselves, not the wind farms.
"This is our chance to hear, there's a survey we're asking people to fill out to give us comments as we start to look at this lease. There's also a whole other set of plans that parks is not involved in, those would require permitting from the federal government and all different municipalities and government," said Bivens.
On the other side of the debate, dozens of supporters like Thomas Brett voiced their backing for the project as an environmental necessity, and what he describes as a "Win-Win" for the environment, and Delaware,
"It's a moral imperative at this time," Brett said. "The science has proven that fossil fuel energy sources are hurting our future for our children and grandchildren. We owe it to the future generations to promote clean energy."
These plans are still in the proposal stage, with no official agreement made yet on the future of 3Rs Beach