Tradepoint Atlantic teases announcement with Danish wind energy firm

Tradepoint Atlantic in Baltimore County is expected Tuesday morning to announce a new offshore wind energy partnership with Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind.

Both companies described the partnership as “a first-in-Maryland” collaboration in a news advisory Thursday, though they declined to discuss details.

The partnership comes as Tradepoint Atlantic pushes the site of the massive former Sparrows Point steel mill as a potential offshore wind energy hub and Ørsted is developing Skipjack Wind Farm, a 120-megawatt wind farm under development 19.5 miles off Maryland’s coast.

One of nine Ørsted projects under development on the Eastern Seaboard, Spipjack is expected to create 1,400 jobs across Maryland and generate enough clean, reliable energy to power 35,000 homes. Backers hope the project could make Maryland a leader in wind energy.

[ Company building wind farm off Ocean City shore in Maryland bought by Danish wind giant ]

Maryland’s Public Service Commission authorized the Skipjack project and awarded offshore wind renewable energy credits in 2017. Ørsted plans to begin construction by 2021 for Skipjack to be operational by 2022.

In May, Maryland’s General Assembly enacted the Clean Energy Jobs Act, which authorized an additional 1,200 megawatts of offshore wind energy capacity.

Skipjack is one of two offshore wind projects in development off the coast of Ocean City after the state Public Service Commission approved ratepayer subsidies to support wind farms in 2017. U.S. Wind, a subsidiary of Italian energy and construction company Toto Holdings SpA, plans to build 32 turbines at least 17 miles off the coast of Ocean City, a $1.5 billion project expected to start operating in 2022.

[ PSC ruling means Maryland could be home to nation’s second and third offshore wind farms ]

U.S. Wind also plans to build $100 million worth of industrial and manufacturing facilities associated with the project in Baltimore County, which could be at, or near, the Tradepoint Atlantic redevelopment of the former Sparrows Point steel mill.

The eventual redevelopment of Tradepoint Atlantic is expected to generate 11,000 permanent jobs, $2.9 billion in annual economic impact and add a percentage point to Maryland’s gross domestic product, according to company projections.