Maryland Congressional Delegation Members Urge Biden Administration to Boost Offshore Wind in Central Atlantic

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman John Sarbanes joined Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie B. Raskin, David Trone, and Glenn Ivey (all D-Md.) in urging the Biden Administration to maximize the leasing space available for offshore wind energy in the Central Atlantic Ocean, and particularly off of Maryland's coast. In their letter to top officials of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the lawmakers outline the importance of increasing the acreage of BOEM's Draft Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in the Central Atlantic to achieve Maryland's climate and clean energy goals, create good-paying jobs, and boost the region's economy.

The lawmakers pointed to the bold climate actions Maryland has taken while noting that the federal government's partnership is essential to making continued progress, writing, "Maryland has some of the most aggressive GHG emission reduction targets in the nation, which would reduce emissions by 60% (over 2006 level) by 2031 and reach net-zero emissions by 2045. The state has been able to set ambitious goals and will need support from federal partners to deliver on these promises. We urge each agency to find ways to maximize offshore wind leases off the coast of Maryland to ensure we can meet our state and national decarbonization goals."

They also highlighted significant investments secured for workforce and supply chain readiness for offshore wind development: "Maryland offshore wind developers, US Wind and Ørsted, have committed a combined $340 million toward new manufacturing facilities to support their projects off the coast of Maryland. These projects will power over 640,000 Maryland homes, expand STEM education programs, develop a zero-emission offshore wind operations and maintenance port facility, and create a minimum of 10,000 jobs during the development, construction, and operating phases of the projects. The state has garnered national support for its budding offshore wind industry, and last August, the Maryland Department of Labor, in partnership with the developers and several labor unions, received over $20 million from the Department of Commerce to implement an apprenticeship program and address exploding demand in the sector. Maryland will train thousands of workers to meet incredible demand from renewable energy related enterprises," the lawmakers wrote.

They concluded by urging each of the federal agencies to work together to make available as much leasing area as possible in the Central Atlantic for offshore wind: "Cooperation and flexibility from BOEM, DOD, USCG, and NOAA to maximize offshore wind lease areas in the Central Atlantic could unlock more than 10,000 additional megawatts of clean energy for our region and tens of thousands of new jobs. It is essential to work together to achieve our offshore wind and climate goals while still preserving your respective Services' and agencies' mission-critical activities, and we stand ready to assist you in this task."

Full text of the letter can be viewed here.