Ørsted currently has two proposals on the table that will affect Delmarva residents: The Skipjack project, an offshore wind farm spanning the Delmarva coast, and a non-binding agreement with DNREC to develop nearly two acres of undisturbed protected wetlands in Fenwick Island State Park to house an electricity substation.
Although Ørsted may speak of the two interchangeably, these proposals are completely unrelated.
The lease for the offshore Skipjack project is in federal waters and, therefore, under federal jurisdiction. The federal lease does not include the point of interconnection to the onshore grid, i.e., the electricity substation, which occurs on land and, therefore, falls within the jurisdiction of the states.
In considering Charles Garlow’s response to my letter “Ørsted pulls a string and DNREC dances and nods,” the seemingly professional advocate sounds much like an Ørsted spokesperson espousing his attraction to “beautiful, tall, slender and graceful” wind turbines, admiration of Joy Weber’s oratory skills, confidence in DNREC’s negotiating ability and excitement to welcome the “friendly people” of Denmark to Delmarva.
Once you strip away all of Mr. Garlow’s pleasantries, however, Ørsted is nothing but a massive publicly traded for-profit company looking to bribe a state agency (DNREC) for otherwise unavailable development rights at a protected state park (Fenwick Island State Park).
Mr. Garlow’s compliments aside, several of his assertions require correction.
First, he asserts “I would ask, if not [at Fenwick Island State Park], where?”
As Ms. Breger rightly mentioned in her letter, “On wind farm, people have to do own diligence,” the Maryland Energy Administration identified the 138th St., 41st St. and 2nd St. substations in Ocean City, Md., as “optimal substations for the point of interconnection.” None of these more appropriate alternatives require new development, just an underground connection.
Grid connection via an Ocean City, Md. substation was Ørsted’s original plan for good reason as Maryland, not Delaware, is the offtaker under the Skipjack contract.
Second, he claims “No one is advocating destroying any wetlands.”
The Ørsted-DNREC proposal is by its very terms advocacy of wetlands destruction. Fenwick Island State Park spans approximately 21,120 linear feet of coastline, yet only around 32 percent of this linear coastline is undeveloped from ocean to bay. The proposed development would decrease the park’s undeveloped ocean to bay wetlands by approximately 2,290 linear feet, or 34 percent, with Ørsted’s substation alone accounting for approximately 20 percent of this reduction.
Third, he refers to Fenwick Island State Park as “dilapidated.”
The park is exactly what a coastal park should be - understated, putting nature first. All parks require upkeep, which is why DNREC proposed $2 million of refurbishment before Ørsted’s checkbook came calling. Only after Ørsted’s two-acre industrial facility needed to be hidden did DNREC propose unnecessary carnival-like “improvements” at the park.
Ms. Breger put it best when she said “I suppose the best way to hide an elephant is to build a circus around it.”
Lastly, he claims “ . . . like the Rhode Island wind farm experience . . . property values will not decrease . . .”
As property values relate to the Ørsted-DNREC proposal at the park, the existence of offshore wind turbines is irrelevant because values will be adversely effected from the eyesore of a two acre electromagnetic field-emitting electricity substation less than one-third of a mile from residential neighborhoods and this towering industrial facility along with multiple parking lots replacing a once-pristine bayside sightline. Does Ørsted have a commissioned study demonstrating property values aren’t negatively impacted in such a scenario?
Regardless of how you feel about the Skipjack offshore wind project, the Ørsted-DNREC proposal at Fenwick Island State Park is a simple calculus - you either believe a Fortune 500 company’s corporate bribe is sufficient to buy Delaware’s protected wetlands or you side with conservation of Delaware State Parks.
As less environmentally harmful interconnection points exist, I side with conservation over fleeting corporate cash.
Brandon Bortner
Fenwick Island
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