FENWICK ISLAND, Del.- Fenwick Island and Sussex County have launched a new lawsuit against the State of Delaware, arguing state lawmakers overstepped in passing two laws to greenlight a controversial offshore wind-related project.
The lawsuit, filed in Delaware Chancery Court on Dec. 23 and obtained by WBOC, centers on a proposed electrical substation tied to the proposed US Wind offshore wind project. In late 2024, Sussex County Council voted 4–1 to deny a conditional use permit for the facility after public hearings and opposition from residents and local officials, including the Town of Fenwick Island.
The substation would be the landing site for power cables brought ashore from a proposed 114 turbine wind farm off the coast of Worcester County.
The substation project’s developer, Renewable Redevelopment LLC, then appealed Sussex County’s denial in Superior Court. While that appeal was still pending, state lawmakers stepped in and passed Senate Bill 159, legislation that prevents counties from rejecting certain large electrical substations tied to renewable energy projects.
The bill went a step further. It applied retroactively, meaning projects that were already denied, including the proposed substation, would automatically be considered approved under the new law.
Lawmakers later passed Senate Bill 199, delaying the law’s effective date until January 31, 2026, partly to give the courts time to weigh in. But a Superior Court judge has since paused the developer’s appeal, noting that once the laws take effect, the court’s ruling could become meaningless.
In their new lawsuit, which names both the State of Delaware and Governor Matt Meyer as defendants, Fenwick and Sussex County argue the state is undoing a lawful zoning decision after the fact, stripping counties and towns of their authority to decide how land is used in their own communities. They also claim the legislation was narrowly crafted to benefit one specific project on one specific parcel of land.
“Although the legislation did not call out Sussex County specifically, the targeted nature of the bill as to this parcel and the already-denied conditional use permit, was openly acknowledged by the Bill sponsors during debate, who also stated that the specific parameters of the bill would not encompass any other parcels other than the RRLLC parcel in question, and it was stated that the bill was to facilitate the ‘US Wind’ offshore wind Project (RRLLC being a US Wind subsidiary) as the bill sponsors claimed that the renewable energy project would be in Delaware’s interest,” the lawsuit reads.
The plaintiffs go on to claim the legislation blurs the lines between branches of government, interferes with an active court case, and sets a troubling precedent in which state lawmakers can override local land-use decisions whenever they choose.
“This wasn’t a policy change for the future,” the lawsuit argues. “This was the Legislature stepping in to reverse a decision that had already been made.”
Fenwick Island and Sussex County are now asking the court to block the laws from taking effect in January, to reinstate Sussex County’s original denial of the substation, and prevent the state from enforcing the new statutes.
Along with their initial filing on Tuesday, plaintiffs also filed a temporary restraining order against Delaware to prevent the laws from going into effect.
WBOC will continue to provide the latest updates on the ongoing litigation over US Wind’s proposed project off the shores of Delmarva.
