Ørsted now anticipates a delay in its Skipjack offshore wind project off the coast of Delaware and Maryland.
Plans had called for the powerline from the project to enter Delaware, with Ørsted using a small portion of Fenwick Island State Park in return for $18 million in improvements to the popular destination.
Now, Greentech Media reports Ørsted is likely to delay the completion date from 2022 to 2023.
Objections had come from Fenwick Island residents as well as the mayor of Ocean City, MD, who wanted the project further offshore.
The delay had been in the works before the coronavirus crisis unfolded in March.
Federal regulators have extended the period for studying offshore wind projects before the crisis took hold. Ørstrd is also working on far larger projects off the coasts of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Denmark-based Ørsted is also involved with onshore wind projects.
The coronavirus pandemic presents a challenge and perhaps an opportunity for Ørsted.
Nearly a decade ago, a slow recovery from a recession led to the shelving of the Bluewater Wind project off the coast of Rehoboth Beach.
At the same time, the case could be made for large-scale wind power projects putting people to work in any recovery that follows the coronavirus pandemic.
(Editor’s note: A previous story listed the project as Deepwater).
