Sussex County Council decides to continue power struggle with state
Sussex County Council decided April 14 to continue challenging a court decision overriding its 2024 vote to deny a permit for an electrical substation project that’s critical to an offshore wind power project.
After meeting behind closed doors with their lawyer for nearly an hour, council members returned to session and voted 4-1 to continue the appeal of state legislation that effectively OK’d the substation. Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum cast the only vote in opposition.
Council members did not comment prior to the vote, but President Doug Hudson said afterward that he has received many telephone calls from county residents urging council to continue the fight.
“My phone’s been blowing up,” Hudson said, adding that court documents would be filed soon in Delaware Supreme Court. “We’re going to continue on with litigation.”
Delaware Court of Chancery issued a ruling March 25 to uphold the General Assembly’s authority to override council’s denial of a permit for the substation.
In December 2024, Sussex County Council voted 4-1 to deny a permit for an electrical substation proposed by Renewable Redevelopment LLC, a subsidiary of US Wind, on land zoned Heavy Industrial next to the Indian River power plant.
The substation would serve as a link allowing electricity generated by offshore wind turbines to come ashore and enter the regional electric grid.
The Delaware General Assembly passed Senate Bill 159 in June, providing that no county may deny a permit for an electrical substation that meets specific state siting criteria.
The case involving the US Wind’s project for wind turbines to generate 1.7 gigawatts of power has become a struggle between county and state rights.
County council members at previous meetings objected to the state usurping their authority to make local land-use decisions, which have traditionally been the responsibility of local governments in Delaware.
“We need to have local control,” Hudson said April 14. “If the state usurps our authority on this, they can do it on anything.”
The state has argued that it has the right to make decisions concerning issues that have statewide consequences, including the power grid.
“We need to get politics out of our energy policy and focus on what actually lowers costs for Delaware families,” Gov. Matt Meyer said after the March 25 ruling. “Delaware needs more energy, and wind is one of our natural advantages.”
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed.
His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards.
Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper.
Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
