Sussex officials resist offshore wind substation

Site for Maryland project required to benefit county residents

GEORGETOWN — Sussex County Council is giving itself more time to determine whether allowing US Wind to operate an electrical substation via intermediaries would be beneficial to residents.

That decision, rendered Wednesday, concerns a 140-acre parcel, east of Millsboro, that is the former home of the Indian River Power Plant. The proposed substation there would be part of US Wind’s plan to build a wind farm off the coasts of Delaware and Maryland.

The county’s Planning & Zoning Commission recommended the project’s approval June 26.

The commission set terms and conditions for the use, like final site plan approval, but found no basis in code to reject the application. As part of its process, it forwarded the issue to County Council, which held its own public hearing Wednesday.

It was during this gathering that the question of tangible benefits to residents surfaced. Such advantages are a requirement for conditional uses in the code.

James Fuqua, representing the applicant, said citizens will benefit via reimbursement plans offered by US Wind to municipal governments; jobs and opportunities associated with the construction, operation, maintenance and eventual decommissioning of the system; and lower electric prices because of possible surplus generation.

“Well, (generated electricity) goes into the electric grid. So, it’s not identifiable energy in terms of where that energy is going,” he said. “The substation at this site will increase the electric grid reliability of the area, (and) it will result in jobs being created for the development,” along with workforce training, dredging funding and other assistance, he said.

However, council members didn’t agree that those benefits are tangible enough, sentiments echoed by several meeting attendees.

Council Vice President John Rieley asked if there were contracts in place to guarantee Delaware’s benefit. The applicant responded that the company will need to fulfill obligations to Maryland first.

Surplus energy, which the site would be built to generate, would lower overall prices of electricity, according to the applicant. But Councilman Rieley said it is possible that there would be no surplus and, therefore, no benefit to Sussex Countians.

“Are there any contracts that say that power is going to Delaware?” the councilman asked.

Mr. Fuqua replied that there aren’t.

“It would be like putting a wastewater treatment plant in Sussex County to service Salisbury, (Maryland). The pipes are all servicing Salisbury and not Sussex County — OK, how does it benefit us? I don’t know if you’ve made that case yet,” Councilman Rieley continued.

After several more comments in opposition, he then made a motion to delay a decision to allow council time to consider what it had learned during the hearing. It passed unanimously.

Because council has not scheduled a regular meeting for Monday — which would be the date of its next gathering — the earliest it could make its decision is Aug. 13.