OCEAN CITY — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office signaled in court filings that the Trump administration intends to revoke federal offshore wind permits for Maryland projects, which would effectively end the state’s controversial offshore wind industry and future development along the coast, at least for now.
Federal court records show that the U.S. Attorney General’s office filed a motion to stay in a 20-page lawsuit initially filed by South Bethany, Delaware, homeowner Edward Bintz, who said he strongly opposed offshore wind development for various reasons.
Bintz filed his lawsuit in February against several federal agencies under former President Joe Biden’s administration, which approved the construction of 114 wind turbines approximately 10 miles off Ocean City and the southern Delaware coast.
Referring to a current lawsuit connected to a different case against federal agencies, which was filed last fall by 34 co-plaintiffs in Maryland opposing an offshore wind project approved for construction by Italian company US Wind, the U.S. Attorney General’s Office shared its plans for the Maryland offshore wind project.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told Spotlight on Maryland on Monday evening that “canceling a project set to bring in $1 billion in investment, create thousands of good-paying jobs in manufacturing, and generate more Maryland-made electrical supply is utterly short-sighted.”
“The president’s actions will directly lead to utility-rate hikes by taking off most promising ways for Maryland to meet its looming energy generation challenges,” Moore said. “This technology was set to create 2GW in additional capacity in the coming years, which will help increase supply and help meet Maryland’s electricity demand.
Moore continued that “few if any other technologies represent such potential for utility-scale energy generation without adding the harmful public effects of climate change.”
The White House referred questions about Maryland’s offshore wind industry to the Department of the Interior. An Interior spokesperson was not immediately available for comment after hours on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Harris, a Maryland Republican, countered the Moore administration’s views during an unrelated interview Monday with FOX45 News In Depth host and political reporter Mikenzie Frost.
“The bottom line is offshore wind is incredibly expensive,” Harris told Frost. “The taxpayers pay for it, the ratepayers pay for it. There is no reason to do it, and those permits were rushed through under the Biden administration.”
“There were mistakes in them, and for a variety of reasons, they should take another look at them; and, if they do, I am pretty sure US Wind is going to stop the whole project because it has taken a long time,” Harris added.
US Wind did not respond on Monday to multiple requests for comment from Spotlight on Maryland.
Maryland Sen. Mary Beth Carozza, a Republican from Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties, a leader in the grassroots organization “Stop Offshore Wind,” told Spotlight on Maryland by text on Monday evening that opponents of the US Wind project on Maryland’s Eastern Shore are “grateful that our voices are being heard by the Trump administration.”
“Since 2017, we have been making the case that the costly industrialization of the ocean off Maryland’s coast would harm the environment, economy, and national security — plus drive-up costs with an unreliable energy source,” Carozza said. “The decision to move toward revoking the US Wind’s federal permit is good news, but we won’t stop fighting until the Maryland offshore wind project is completely dead.”
Meanwhile, Maryland Del. Ryan Nawrocki, a Republican from Baltimore County, a member of the right-leaning Maryland House Freedom Caucus, echoed a similar view, adding that the state must immediately develop a plan to meet its electrification needs.
The federal court filing by the U.S. Attorney General’s office in the Delaware case against Maryland offshore wind occurs as the Trump administration ordered work to be halted on the 700-megawatt Revolution Wind project off Rhode Island’s coast.
The project was nearing 80% completion, as developer Ørsted’s stock (DNNGY) reached a record low for the company Friday, with little recovery in the markets Monday.
The Trump administration’s indication of a possible end to Maryland’s offshore wind industry puts Moore’s green energy agenda in jeopardy. Moore announced months after taking office as Maryland’s 63rd governor that he aimed to make the state “the offshore capital of the United States.”
Ørsted canceled its agreement with Maryland regulators in January 2024 to develop its offshore wind project, citing “challenging economic circumstances.” Spotlight on Maryland found in early July that a US Wind 90-acre turbine manufacturing site at Tradepoint Atlantic, which was supposed to come online by 2025, remained undeveloped, according to drone footage taken near the location.
US Wind is the only offshore wind company authorized to build turbines in federally leased ocean waters along the state’s coast.
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