U.S. Department of Interior officials and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed a new agreement June 7 to coordinate developing win d energy off the state’s coast.
“Maryland will play an important role in helping achieve the Biden-Harris administration’s ambitious renewable energy goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland at a signing ceremony in Annapolis, Md.
Under the “memorandum of understanding,” BOEM and Maryland state government will continue looking toward potential areas for offshore wind leasing. The MOU came just after BOEM released a new environmental assessment of three offshore wind energy areas off the Delmarva coast.
While BOEM concluded that lease sales as early as Aug. 14 will have “no significant impact” on other ocean users and the environment, potential future conflicts from wind project construction are still being evaluated, according to BOEM documents.
One notable area is reconciling wind energy uses with military training missions in the region, and NASA operations from its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia and downrange area over the Atlantic.
“BOEM is proud of our commitment to build a robust offshore wind industry that benefits communities and co-exists with other ocean uses,” BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein said of the agreement. “This memorandum of understanding solidifies our partnership to collaborate on expanding the opportunities for offshore wind energy in the Central Atlantic.”
