Maryland Calls for Offshore Wind Proposals Days After Court Victory
The State of Maryland celebrated the victory in the courts against the Trump administration's order halting licensing for wind energy projects by launching a new call for Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) from the licensed developers. The state reiterated its commitment to wind energy despite the ongoing struggles with federal regulators.
Maryland published the details of the call open to leaseholders. The state will be conducting an information conference this upcoming week. Proposals are due by January 16.
At the beginning of the week, the 17 states and the District of Columbia, which had filed a complaint in May, won a court order that vacated Donald Trump’s Executive Order halting sales and licensing for the wind power industry. The January order had directed federal agencies to pause their effort and to begin an open-ended review of the process. The administration argues that wind power was unfairly advantaged by the Biden administration and that licensing was rushed without full consideration of the impact of the projects.
A U.S. District Court Judge, however, found that the order was “arbitrary and capricious.” U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris in Massachusetts found that the Executive Order violated the Administrative Procedures Act that governs how agencies administer programs.
“This decision is a clear victory for Marylanders,” said Governor Wes Moore. “Despite the president’s unlawful actions, this ruling means we can continue doing the work that helps families keep more of the money they earn. Lowering energy costs requires investing in solutions that work, and expanding clean, reliable wind power is one of the most effective tools we have.”
Maryland and the other states had argued that the actions of the federal agencies were blocking the state’s efforts to secure reliable, diversified, and affordable sources of energy to meet their increasing demands for electric power. They said the federal government was overstepping its authority and also threatening billions of dollars that the states had already invested in renewable power, and specifically wind power.
State law requires Maryland to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2045, with wind power serving as a cornerstone of this effort. Maryland asserted that it has invested heavily in wind energy as part of its plan to fight climate change. In 2023, Maryland set an ambitious goal to develop 8,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2031.
Currently, only one developer, US Wind, which is a partnership of Apollo Global Management and Renexia, is licensed. It has proposed a two-phase project known as Marwind and Momentum Wind. Originally, it was proposing 300 MW with 22 turbines in the first phase and 800 MW with 55 turbines in the other project. It later upped its proposal to a project with 840 and 870 MW and received its federal approval of its Construction and Operations Plan in December 2024.
US Wind has all its major licenses in place, but is currently in court fighting the Trump administration. The Department of the Interior is attempting to rescind the approval and review the license. The project has also been the subject of a fight between the state and federal environmental protection authorities over jurisdiction of licensing.
Two other developers are in an early stage in Mary, but could also participate in the new PPA call. Ørsted has Skipjack Wind, a combined 966 MW project off the coast of the Delmarva peninsula. In January 2024, however, it withdrew the project and said it would be repositioning the project as the power purchase prices were too low to make the project economical. It was also working with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to gain approval of its Construction and Operations Plan.
In August 2024, a federal lease auction was held in the mid-Atlantic. Equinor was the winner of an approximately 2 GW offshore wind lease in the U.S. Central Atlantic. This project is in the earliest stages of the three developers in Maryland.
Judge Vacates Trump’s Order Stopping Review and Approval of Wind Farms
A U.S. federal judge found for the states in a complaint filed against the Trump administration regarding Donald Trump’s January 2025 executive order placing the wind energy industry under review. While the decision is being hailed as a key victory by advocates, it may in reality do little to end the administration's assault on wind energy and other elements of renewable energy.
A coalition of 17 states and Washington, D.C., had sued earlier this year seeking to overturn the executive order, which placed the approval process for wind energy projects under review. The order signed on Trump’s first day in office directed U.S. departments to suspend additional licensing and to review the permitting process, contending that there are negative effects on national security, transportation and commercial interests, and that the leases “may lead to grave harm.” The administration has also argued that there were deficiencies in the reviews under the Biden administration and that approvals were rushed.
The order, however, was found to be “arbitrary and capricious” by U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris in Massachusetts. She issued an order on December 8, vacating the executive order, writing that it is contrary to U.S. law. The judge rejected the arguments that the order is unconstitutional, but found that it violates the Administrative Procedures Act that governs how agencies administer programs.
Judge Saris said the Department of the Interior had failed to provide a “reasonable explanation” of the policy stopping the reviews and approval. The agencies had argued they were following the president’s order in stopping the reviews. They told the court that it is a policy disagreement with the states and outside the court’s jurisdiction.
The states had argued that it was an over step of presidential authority to halt the entire permitting process. They said it jeopardized state policies and large investments already made into renewable energy.
The order, which had also been a key issue in other efforts by the Trump administration, had previously been questioned by other courts, which noted that the review was open-ended. The Department of Justice cited the order in other cases where it had said previously issued permits and approvals would be reviewed in part due to the order. A court hearing a case against one of the Massachusetts wind farms had ordered the administration to provide regular updates on the review, saying it could not continue indefinitely.
The challenge to the executive order was being led by state attorneys general, including those from New York and Massachusetts. New York’s Attorney General Letitia James quickly issued a statement thanking the court for blocking the “reckless and unlawful crusade against clean energy.” Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said the court’s decision protects the large investments made by the state to support wind energy projects.
A White House spokesperson responded, repeating the allegations that the Bid administration had favored renewable energy. The statement said offshore wind projects were given “unfair, preferential treatment,” and that the Biden administration had hindered the energy industry with “burdensome regulations.”
The Natural Resources Defense Council said the executive order had caused at least seven major offshore wind projects to be paused. Major developers such as Shell and BP cited the uncertainties and said they were withdrawing their plans in the U.S.
Experts, however, noted that while it is a victory for the advocates, it would do little to change the broader effort by the administration to stop offshore wind development. The courts, it was noted, cannot compel the administration to approve projects or resume the lease sales.
The administration attempted to stop offshore construction of the Empire Wind project in New York and the partially completed Revolution Wind in Massachusetts. It agreed to let the New York project proceed while a court placed an injunction against the efforts to stop the Massachusetts project. The Department of Justice has also been involved in cases against permitted wind farms in Massachusetts and Maryland, telling the courts the permits were being reviewed by the administration and likely to be revised or revoked.
Norway Approves Applications for Two Floating Wind Projects
Norway’s Ministry of Energy reports that it will award two project areas in the Utsira Nord region off the coast of Stavanger after having reviewed the applications received in the award program. Norway previously reported that two consortia had been formed and each submitted bids, which have now been confirmed.
The area which is 1,010 square kilometers, would place wind turbines at least 7 km (4.3 miles) from shore. Because of the water depth and the challenges along the west coast of Norway, the projects will require new floating technology for the wind turbines. One of the groups is being led by Equinor, and the other includes EDF Renewables.
Minister of Energy Terje Aasland said they were pleased to be able to move forward with two strong applicants. He predicted that the projects would contribute to developing floating offshore wind technology.
“Offshore wind is one of the government’s key focus areas to ensure sufficient power supply in the years ahead,” said Aasland in September after confirming the receipt of the two applications. “During the development phase, floating offshore wind in Utsira Nord will play an important role in advancing technology and reducing costs. By investing in offshore wind, we are also laying a solid foundation for Norwegian suppliers to compete in the development of future offshore wind projects.”
The companies will now be able to submit proposals for project-specific impact assessment programs and conduct their full assessments at the site. They will have two years to submit applications for their licenses after the approval of the impact assessments.
Equinor has said that a floating offshore wind farm at Utsira Nord could be the next project in Norway with a size to drive industrialization of floating offshore wind and create new opportunities for the Norwegian offshore industry. During the application process, it said it was eager to contribute to a new chapter in Norway’s energy legacy and position floating offshore wind as a new industry contributing to the energy transition.
The government will also allocate NOK 35 billion (US$3.5 billion) as the maximum level of support available for the projects. The companies will be entitled to participate in a competition for state aid. Norway said that if both groups apply, one will receive support based on requiring the least state aid to develop the project.
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