Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind, Tradepoint Atlantic Partner on Maryland’s First Offshore Wind Energy Center
Baltimore, Md., July 23, 2019 – Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind today announced a landmark agreement to develop Maryland’s first offshore wind energy staging center at Tradepoint Atlantic, a 3,300-acre global logistics center in Baltimore County, Maryland. Establishing a world-class, state-of-the-art facility for offshore wind at Tradepoint Atlantic marks a major milestone in the development of Ørsted’s Skipjack Wind Farm located 19.5 miles off Maryland’s coast, and the expansion of Maryland’s offshore wind energy workforce. The announcement was made Tuesday alongside Maryland Lt. Governor Boyd K. Rutherford and Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski, Jr.
“Together with Tradepoint Atlantic, we are making history by developing the first offshore wind staging center in Maryland,” said Claus Møller, Chief Operating Officer of Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind. “This new center will create good-paying jobs, leverage Tradepoint Atlantic’s outstanding location and logistical assets, and put Maryland on the map as a global offshore wind industry hub. We are proud to work with Tradepoint Atlantic to make clean energy the newest chapter in the storied history of the Sparrows Point site as we pursue our vision of a world that runs entirely on green energy.”
The Ørsted staging center will total 50 acres, including 5 acres adjacent to Tradepoint’s deep water inner berth. Ørsted will receive and loadout components at the berth and have up to 45 acres designated for laydown and assembly of components destined for the project site off Maryland’s coast. The center advances Ørsted’s commitment to create 1,400 jobs in Maryland as part of the Skipjack Wind Farm, including 913 jobs measured in full-time equivalents during development and construction and 484 jobs during operation.
“Today’s announcement is tremendously exciting and important, not only for the further development of Tradepoint Atlantic and Ørsted’s Skipjack project, but for the entire clean and renewable energy sector,” said Tradepoint Atlantic Chief Commercial Officer Kerry Doyle. “This represents the first step of many to come in growing the offshore wind industry and Tradepoint Atlantic plans to play a major role in making sure it thrives here in Maryland. Ultimately, because of this new partnership, Tradepoint Atlantic is positioned to become the supply chain leader up and down the East Coast for offshore wind energy – supporting and creating thousands of jobs in the process. Most importantly, it will bring new manufacturing opportunities back to Sparrows Point. We want to thank the State of Maryland, Baltimore County, our local elected officials, and of course Ørsted for supporting and partnering with us on this project – without them this would not be happening.”
“Never before have we celebrated the start of an offshore wind staging center in Maryland, and I can’t think of a site more perfectly suited to the task than this one. Today’s announcement puts Tradepoint Atlantic on the global map for the offshore wind energy industry,” said Lt. Governor Boyd K. Rutherford. “This partnership is the latest exciting chapter in the remarkable transformation of the Sparrows Point site. Governor Hogan and I have been deeply committed to working with Tradepoint Atlantic to ensure this site is just as economically dominant in the 21st century as it was in the 20th. Today’s announcement is another big step toward that goal.”
The agreement is part of Ørsted’s commitment to a $13.2 million investment at Tradepoint Atlantic. Improvements will include strengthening ground bearing capacity at the port to allow heavy-lift cranes and specialized transporters to move wind turbine components, some weighing as much as 2,000 tons, from ships onto the site.
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About Skipjack Wind Farm:
The Skipjack Wind Farm is one of nine Ørsted projects under development or operation on the eastern seaboard. The project was awarded offshore wind renewable energy credits by the Maryland Public Service Commission in 2017 and will generate enough clean energy to power 35,000 homes. Ørsted plans to begin construction by 2021 with the wind farm coming online in 2022. The company plans to invest approximately $200 million in Maryland.
About Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind
Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind delivers clean, renewable energy along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard. The company operates Block Island Wind Farm, America’s first offshore wind farm, and has a comprehensive geographic coverage with the largest pipeline of development capacity, totaling over 8GW in seven states. It is jointly headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island and employs over 100 people.
About Tradepoint Atlantic
The 3,300-acre, multimodal, global logistics center in Baltimore, Md., Tradepoint offers a gateway to markets around the United States and the world, featuring an unmatched combination of access to deepwater berths, rails and highways. Ground-breaking agreements signed with federal and state environmental regulators in 2014 to initiate environmental remediation after a century of steelmaking, the financial backing of investment firms Hilco Global and Redwood Capital Investments and the robust support of local and state government, enable the redevelopment of the site through further infrastructure improvements. At full build out, Tradepoint Atlantic is projected to generate 11,000 permanent jobs, $2.9 billion in annual economic impact and add a point to Maryland’s gross domestic product as one of North America’s most strategic commercial gateways.