Baltimore, MD — US Wind, Inc. (“US Wind”) has proposed $20 million to support commercial fishing under memoranda of understanding reached with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (“MDNR”) and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (“DNREC”).
The agreements, developed in response to feedback from the local commercial fishing industry, will provide funding to commercial fishermen above and beyond what is required by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).
“This proposal — one of the biggest investments in commercial fishing in the region – demonstrates our commitment to the fishing industry and the local community in which we’ll operate,” said Jeffrey Grybowski, US Wind CEO. “The funding will provide direct support to commercial and charter fishermen, grants for local businesses, and support for harbor maintenance and infrastructure. We’re looking forward to continuing our work with local fishermen and the states of Maryland and Delaware to finalize this unprecedented agreement.”
In Maryland, US Wind reduced the planned footprint of harbor-front facilities after hearing feedback from locals. Included in the $20 million package is $13.5 million for the Maryland Fishing Community Resilience Fund, which provides:
- Grants for fishing businesses in the harbor to continue the offloading of catch and ice services;
- 30 years of funding for West Ocean City Harbor maintenance, such as dredging requested each year by the community, dock and shore stabilization; and
- Substantial money for gear development, marketing of local seafood, fishing business development, and incentives for new commercial fishermen.
“Maryland recognizes the cultural and economic value of our ocean-going commercial and charter fishing industries,” said Maryland DNR Secretary Josh Kurtz, who signed the agreement on behalf of Maryland. “This agreement works to balance our need to develop reliable and clean domestic energy sources with our desire to support the state’s seafood industry and commercial fishing operations.”
In the Delaware MOU, the Multi-Use Fishing Community Resilience Fund will provide significant funding for fishing-related research, such as novel fishing gear development.
“As Delaware charts a course toward cleaner energy, we’re equally committed to looking out for our commercial fishers,” said DNREC Secretary Greg Patterson. “This MOU represents a balance: advancing needed energy generation while taking meaningful steps to protect fishing livelihoods and strengthen coastal resilience.”
In addition to the Resilience Funds for each state, the MOUs will establish two further areas of multi-state monetary support:
- A $5.4 million direct, claims-based compensation program for commercial and for-hire recreational fishermen who demonstrate impacts to their fisheries revenue from US Wind projects.
- More than $1 million in funds for upgraded navigation safety equipment and safety training that will be available to Maryland and Delaware based vessels and crew who operate in the vicinity of the windfarms.
In order to support its offshore wind projects, US Wind plans to establish an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) facility in the West Ocean City Harbor, relatively close to where the turbines will be located offshore. The harbor front O&M facility will serve as the primary location to plan and coordinate wind turbine and offshore substation maintenance and servicing operations for US Wind’s offshore wind projects. Services that the facility will provide include wind farm monitoring, maintenance planning and logistics, crew support, warehousing, and parking, as well as quayside and berthing areas for crew transfer vessels (CTVs). The O&M facility will not house large wind turbine components, such as blades, towers, or monopiles, and will not berth large deep draft vessels that cannot enter the West Ocean City Harbor
In 2023, two West Ocean City, Maryland harbor property owners approached US Wind, resulting in purchase option agreements with both owners. The West Ocean City Harbor is an area that provides services to the fishing community, and US Wind has looked to reduce the impacts to the fishing community services provided at these properties. Under the company’s proposal in the MOU with Maryland DNR, the company will use only one of the two properties that it has optioned in West Ocean City. By only developing one site instead of two and investing in grants for fishing service providers, the agreement will benefit and enhance commercial fishing services at the West Ocean City Harbor.
About US Wind
US Wind holds the lease rights to an 80,000-acre federal lease area off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland, which has the potential to generate approximately 1,800 MW of energy and power more than 600,000 homes in Delmarva. In addition to developing energy for the region, US Wind is also establishing Sparrows Point Steel, Maryland’s first permanent offshore wind manufacturing facility at the former site of Bethlehem Steel in Baltimore County. US Wind has secured all necessary federal permits to develop the entire federal lease area and, in January 2025, was awarded a new Offshore Renewable Energy Credits (“OREC”) Order by the Maryland Public Service Commission to develop a 1,710 MW energy project for the region.
