(May 16, 2024) — US Wind, Inc. (“US Wind”) has contracted with Project ABLE (Align, Build, Leverage, and Expand), a collaboration between Delaware State University and the University of Delaware’s (“UD”) Center for Autonomous and Robotic Systems, to perform work related to the decommissioning of US Wind’s meteorological and oceanographic (“metocean”) buoy and its infrastructure. The metocean buoy has been collecting wind and marine life data in US Wind’s federal lease area off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland, since May 2021. Project ABLE will use an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle to ensure that all components have been properly removed and that nothing has been left behind. Weather permitting, the site clearance survey will be conducted at the end of May, following removal of the final buoy components.

US Wind, the leading offshore wind developer in Delmarva, controls the rights to an 80,000-acre lease area located off the coast of Maryland, which is able to support close to 2,000 megawatts (“MW”) of offshore wind energy generation. In October 2023, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) issued a draft environmental impact statement on US Wind’s construction and operations plan, putting the company on the path to securing final federal permits by the end of 2024. Data collected by the metocean buoy has been used to inform US Wind’s energy production estimates and overall project design. The buoy has also allowed US Wind to collect an array of advanced environmental and wildlife data.

“We’re excited to begin what we expect will be a long-term working relationship with the University of Delaware,” said Jeffrey Grybowski, US Wind CEO. “Their underwater autonomous vehicle technology is cutting edge, and collaborations like these will extend Project ABLE’s reach while enabling practical applications for industries like ours.”Project ABLE connects industry and government with the institutions’ faculty and student expertise, forging a path toward a Blue Economy incubator in both Sussex County and the state of Delaware.

“We’re thrilled to embark on this partnership with US Wind, leveraging our cutting-edge autonomous underwater vehicle technology to support their decommissioning efforts. This collaboration highlights the practical applications of our research in advancing offshore wind energy and marine environmental monitoring,” said Art Trembanis, Deputy Director of the Center for Autonomous and Robotic Systems at the University of Delaware.US Wind’s projects are likely to be among the first offshore wind projects in operation in the mid-Atlantic. The projects will sell carbon-free power into the regional power grid, which will result in lower regional energy prices and reduce capacity charges by up to $253 million over 20 years. US Wind will also invest more than $200 million in transmission system upgrades, most of which will occur in Sussex County, Delaware.

Project ABLE, a $1.3 million project led by the University of Delaware in collaboration with Delaware State University, aims to advance technology and workforce development to bolster the Blue Economy. With a focus on ocean exploration and environmental monitoring, the project will train the next generation of ocean innovators while testing new sensors and marine robotics. Supported by federal funding and collaboration between academic and industry partners, Project ABLE seeks to make Delaware a national hub for autonomous systems and artificial intelligence in support of the Blue Economy’s growth and sustainability.

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