For years, the wind power company US Wind has been planning a windfarm offshore from Maryland’s coastline, but now the project is under threat. Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it was revoking a $47.4 million grant that was intended to help fund the project, which is planned to be offshore from Ocean City. This cut was part of a much larger withdrawal of $679 million in grants the federal government had already approved for wind power projects around the country, including several along the Atlantic coast.
Obviously, the withdrawal of federal funding spells trouble for the US Wind and its employees, as well as for the Ocean City wind farm project, but the effects don’t end there. Part of the wind farm project involves construction at a new manufacturing plant in Sparrows Point. The plant was originally intended to manufacture steel parts for wind turbines at the Ocean City project and for other windfarms along the East Coast. A US Wind spokesperson said that that the manufacturing plant project will still go ahead, but it’s not clear what role wind power will play in its development.
Indeed, the future of many wind power projects is in flux because of the cuts. Farther north along the coast from Maryland, construction stopped on a major wind project because of the cancellation of the grants, even though the wind farm is 80% complete.
Complex litigation
Large construction projects can be extremely complex — particularly when they involve offshore construction. The sudden cancellation of these projects can lead to enormously complex litigation, with multiple businesses, government agencies and others involved. These cases can touch on business law, environmental law, maritime law and more.