DELAWARE, DE – Beginning on Saturday, September 9, Danish energy company Ørsted will recommence its near-shore surveys off Delaware’s coast. The company aims to identify optimal landfall sites for cables connected to its offshore wind projects. The survey operations will be conducted 12 hours daily and are expected to continue until October.
Ørsted who recently announced they are pushing their nearby New Jersey offshore wind project back until 2026 has made it clear, that they’re not giving up on building wind farms off the U.S. coast. Last week, the company’s stock price tumbled more than 25%.
The company’s sonar mapping off the New Jersey coast has been blamed for an increase in whale deaths since December of 2022.
Ørsted has already been awarded Offshore Renewable Energy Credits for its two offshore wind projects, Skipjack Wind 1 and Skipjack 2. These projects are located approximately 17 miles to the east of Delaware and have capacities of 120 megawatts and 846 megawatts, respectively.
Chris Bason, who leads Ørsted’s stakeholder relations in Delaware, stated that the upcoming survey will take place both north and south of the Indian River Inlet. Bason emphasized that the exact locations for cable landfall have not yet been determined and will be subject to approval from relevant federal, state, or local authorities.
For this operation, Ørsted has selected the R/V Shackleford, a 73-foot catamaran, to conduct surveys in areas up to six miles off the coast of Delaware. Unlike the previous round, this survey will not involve seabed excavation. Instead, high-resolution acoustic sensors will be deployed from the vessel to gather the necessary data.
This will be the second series of surveys by Ørsted as it continues to advance its offshore wind energy projects off the U.S. coast.