SALISBURY, Md. - Building wind turbines off Delmarva's coast is still years away. The offshore wind company Orsted says they are aiming to start operations in 2026. The project, called Skipjack Wind, calls for 60 to 70 turbines to be built off the coast of Delaware. A maintenance facility in West Ocean City will also be built in a few years. It would hold boats that take engineers and technicians out to sea to work on the turbines. Matt Drew works for Orsted and says the permit process for the project will take time.
“We have a lot of components that need to get done to make the project happen, we have a two plus year permitting process with the Federal Government, the bureau of Ocean and Energy Management,” Drew said.
Offshore wind energy is a growing sector on the peninsula with other companies contributing to the Skipjack Wind Project both directly and indirectly. Arcon Welding in Salisbury will train technicians to work on the turbines. Crystal Steel has a facility in Federalsburg, Maryland where the base of the turbines will be built. Where the energy from the Skipjack project will come to shore remains an unanswered question, but Drew says it will likely be further north on Delmarva.
“Now that it's a much larger project it will likely be further north and the reason farther north is because power is fed to the Delmarva Peninsula from the very northern end of Wilmington and as you get further south there is less capacity in the grid,” Drew said.
According to Drew, Orsted is working with a cable company in Baltimore to produce the cables that will be used in the Skipjack Wind Project.