DOVER – The Delaware State Senate Republican Caucus supports the Trump Administration’s intent to withdraw federal approval for US Wind’s proposed offshore wind project off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland.
Senate Republican Leader Gerald Hocker (R-Ocean View) said the decision reflects long-standing concerns voiced by coastal communities about both the economy and the environment.
“Delaware’s beaches are the backbone of our local economy, supporting thousands of jobs and generating millions in revenue annually,” Senator Hocker said. “Just as importantly, this decision helps protect our fragile inland bays, which faced potential disruption from transmission cables slated to run through the Indian River. These concerns are finally being heard, and I’m grateful for the administration’s commitment to protecting both our coastal economy and our environment.”
Senate Democrats have attempted to frame Republican opposition to the project as hypocritical in light of the GOP’s objection to Senate Bill 159, which overruled a local Sussex County zoning decision relating to the project. Senate Republican Whip Brian Pettyjohn (R-Georgetown) said that comparison is misleading.
“Senate Bill 159 was unprecedented in that the state government stepped in to override a local land use decision by Sussex County,” Pettyjohn said. “That’s a matter of local control. What we are talking about now is the federal government reconsidering federal permits it issued for a project in federal waters. Local control is not a factor here, and it is disingenuous to suggest otherwise.”
Democrats have also accused Republicans of treating renewable energy as a “bogeyman.” Senator Bryant Richardson (R-Seaford) pointed to his resolution earlier this year establishing a Nuclear Energy Feasibility Task Force as evidence to the contrary.
“Our caucus has consistently supported cleaner, more reliable energy solutions so long as those solutions make sense economically,” Richardson said. “That’s why I introduced SCR 18, which creates a task force to explore Small Modular Reactor technology here in Delaware. Nuclear energy is one of the most dependable baseload sources of zero-emission power, and it could provide the reliability our grid needs while advancing our clean energy goals.”
Republicans also noted that Democrats’ claims about the benefits of the project are misleading. The turbines would be sited in federal waters off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland. Maryland, not Delaware, would receive the renewable energy credits. Meanwhile, Delaware’s inland bays would bear the environmental cost of burying transmission cables beneath the Indian River Bay.
The caucus reiterated its position that renewable energy development should not come at the expense of Delaware’s communities, economy, or environment.
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