Ørsted’s Skipjack delayed due to permitting issues

Ørsted is postponing the Skipjack Wind Farm project offshore Maryland, US by a year due to delays in the permitting procedure.

The delays will push the project’s anticipated completion date from late 2022 to the end of 2023, the world’s leading offshore wind developer said.

“As the federal permitting timeline evolves, Ørsted is now receiving its federal Notice of Intent for the Skipjack Wind Farm later than originally anticipated,” Ørsted said.

”As a result, Ørsted has determined that moving Skipjack Wind Farm’s anticipated completion date from late 2022 to the new target of the end of 2023 puts us in the strongest position possible to deliver a successful project. Ørsted remains firmly committed to working with our federal partners to complete Skipjack and provide clean, reliable offshore wind energy to 35,000 homes in the Delmarva region.”

Located 17-26 miles off the coast of the Delmarva Peninsula, the Skipjack Wind Farm will feature GE Haliade-X 12 MW wind turbines, subject to final agreed and signed contract, and all required project approvals.

Once commissioned, the wind turbines will provide enough electricity to meet the demand of nearly 35,000 average US households.

The project will create around 1,400 jobs in Maryland, Ørsted said. This includes 913 jobs, measured in full-time equivalents, during the development/construction phase, and 484 jobs during the operating period.

Ørsted will develop the project at Maryland’s first offshore wind energy staging center at Tradepoint Atlantic, Baltimore County.

The wind farm will connect to the PJM grid in Delaware via a newly constructed interconnection facility in Fenwick Island State Park.