Experts: Wind-power substation’s rejection an “early Christmas present” for Sussex County

 

By Bradley Vasoli

While a proposed Sussex County wind-power substation generated some fanfare among politicians, some energy and environmental experts welcome its rejection by the County Council this week.

US Wind envisioned the substation to span over 142 acres in Dagsboro to transport energy generated by offshore wind turbines to the regional transmission grid. The power would travel via four cables through Delaware’s Indian River Bay. Four out of the five councilpersons — except for Council President Michael Vincent — opposed its construction.

US Wind chief executive Jeff Grybowski noted the substation had the support of the county’s zoning and planning commission and got approved by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control (DNREC). He promised a legal challenge, averring, “The law is on our side.”

The project’s latest version envisions more than 100 wind turbines off the Maryland seashore, though turbines off of Delaware have also been contemplated. The erection of the turbines would necessitate a means of connection to the transmission grid, which is the substation’s purpose.

Stevenson: Wind-power substation project is “a mess”

David Stevenson, environmental and energy policy director at the Newark-based Caesar Rodney Institute (CRI), described the project as “a mess” and a “Maryland project” spearheaded by the Old Line State.

“I think [the cancellation] was an early Christmas present for the folks of Sussex County,” he said. “If [Maryland] wants to bring power, sure, let them figure it out.”

His objection is twofold. First, he said, energy consumers will bear a larger cost for an “unreliable” energy source. He noted wind blows the most during the spring and fall, periods of relatively low power demand.

Meanwhile, he said the most recent figures for offshore wind generation’s cost are between $180 to $200 per megawatt hour in contrast to $65 for onshore wind, $55 for solar energy, and $45 for natural gas. This year, the average regional daily wholesale price is roughly $30 per megawatt hour.

Nonetheless, the First State has moved ahead with a mandate requiring 25 percent of electricity to be generated via wind and solar sources. That’s despite the fact that less than 4 percent of Delaware’s electricity comes from solar power.

What impact would wind-power substation project have on nature?

Stevenson’s second criticism concerns the project’s impact on nature. He notes a federal environmental impact statement indicates wind turbines will block ocean views, hinder commercial fishing, and endanger marine life — including that of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

“It’s an environmental wrecking ball,” he said.

“Neither clean nor green”

David Legates, Delaware’s former state climatologist who taught at the University of Delaware and is now an advisory board member at the center-right nonprofit A Better Delaware, echoed that assertion.

“We keep hearing that wind is clean and green,” he said. “It’s neither clean nor green.”

Legates lamented that mining rare-earth minerals like terbium and cobalt to produce wind turbines often means relying on child labor in Africa or slave labor in southeast Asia, subjecting the workers and others in those regions to heavy hazardous discharge.

“A lot of people never see that end of the spectrum,” he explained. “They just see a turbine spinning and think, ‘Wow, that doesn’t burn anything, it doesn’t produce any pollution, so it must be clean.’ It’s not. To get all of this material, you have to expend a lot of energy and create a lot of toxic waste.”

Ultimately, he said, federal subsidies are keeping wind energy afloat. According to the D.C.-based Competitive Enterprise Institute, wind energy interests received $18.7 billion from the federal government between 2016 and 2022.

A backgrounder Stevenson published on CRI’s website Tuesday raised other problems with the Maryland Offshore Wind Project and Delaware’s potential involvement. Federal authorities have suggested land-based routes would be preferable to ones going through the bay. For another, funds flowing to DNREC to measure and mitigate environmental damage are, he believes, insufficient at $2 million annually.

He urged county and state policymakers to back off the project and wind in general.

“We don’t need intermittent, unreliable, expensive power,” he said. “We need affordable, reliable power.”