BALTIMORE — A major blow to Maryland's clean energy agenda.
Ørsted pulled out of an agreement with the state to sell electricity generated from wind farms under development near West Ocean City.
Skipjack Wind 1 and 2, as the projects were called, would have combined to generate 966 megawatts to power more than 300,000 homes by 2026.
Ørsted said the offshore renewable energy credits they agreed to in previous years were "no longer commercially viable because of today’s challenging market conditions, including inflation, high interest rates and supply chain constraints."
“We are grateful to Governor Moore, the Maryland Public Service Commission and the State of Maryland for their steadfast partnership and support as we have worked diligently to develop Skipjack Wind under challenging economic circumstances,” said David Hardy, Group Executive Vice President and CEO Americas at Ørsted. “We fully support the state’s leadership as they pursue their ambitious offshore wind goal."
The company's decision could hamper Maryland's goal of reaching 100% clean energy by 2035.
RELATED: Ocean City to get Maryland’s first emissions-free offshore wind operations and maintenance facility
An Ørsted spokesperson tells WMAR-2 News the development in Ocean City will continue, despite no current agreement being in place.
In the meantime Ørsted plans to submit updated construction and operations plans to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in hopes of getting other states involved.
“As we explore the best path forward for Skipjack Wind, we anticipate several opportunities and will evaluate each as it becomes available," said Hardy. "We will continue to advance Skipjack Wind’s development milestones, including its Construction and Operations Plan.”
Orsted also leases a logistics space at Tradepoint Atlantic in Baltimore County. Although operations at that location are on pause as well, we're told there is no direct connection with the Skipjack projects.
