Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind and Tradepoint Atlantic, a global logistics center in Baltimore County, Maryland, have announced a landmark agreement to develop Maryland’s first offshore wind energy staging center.

The new wind staging center advances Ørsted’s commitment to create 1,400 jobs in Maryland as part of the Skipjack Wind Farm, including 913 jobs measured in full-time equivalents during development and construction and 484 jobs during operation.
Establishing a world-class, state-of-the-art facility for offshore wind at Tradepoint Atlantic marks a major milestone in the development of Ørsted’s Skipjack offshore wind farm located 19.5 miles off Maryland’s coast, and the expansion of the offshore wind energy workforce in Maryland.
“This represents the first step of many to come in growing the offshore wind industry and Tradepoint Atlantic plans to play a major role in making sure it thrives here in Maryland,” said Tradepoint Atlantic Chief Commercial Officer Kerry Doyle. “Ultimately, because of this new partnership, Tradepoint Atlantic is positioned to become the supply chain leader up and down the East Coast for offshore wind energy – supporting and creating thousands of jobs in the process.
Doyle added: “Most importantly, it will bring new manufacturing opportunities back to Sparrows Point.”
The Ørsted staging center will total 50 acres, including five acres adjacent to Tradepoint’s deep-water inner berth. Ørsted will receive and load-out components at the berth and have up to 45 acres designated for laydown and assembly of components destined for the project site off Maryland’s coast.
“Together with Tradepoint Atlantic, we are making history by developing the first offshore wind energy staging center in Maryland,” said Claus Møller, Chief Operating Office of Ørsted. “This new center will create good-paying jobs, leverage Tradepoint Atlantic’s outstanding location and logistical assets, and put Maryland on the map as a global offshore wind industry hub. We are especially proud to work with Tradepoint Atlantic to make clean energy the newest chapter in the storied history of the Sparrows Point site as we pursue our vision of a world that runs entirely on green energy.”
“Never before have we celebrated the start of an offshore wind staging center in Maryland, and I can’t think of a site more perfectly suited to the task than this one. Today’s announcement puts Tradepoint Atlantic on the global map for the offshore wind energy industry,” said Lt. Governor Boyd K. Rutherford. “This partnership is the latest exciting chapter in the remarkable transformation of the Sparrows Point site. Governor Hogan and I have been deeply committed to working with Tradepoint Atlantic to ensure this site is just as economically dominant in the 21st century as it was in the 20th. Today’s announcement is another big step toward that goal.”
The agreement is part of Ørsted’s commitment to a $13.2 million investment at Tradepoint Atlantic. Improvements will include strengthening ground bearing capacity at the port to allow heavy-lift cranes and specialized transporters to move wind turbine components, some weighing as much as 2,000 tons, from ships onto the site.
Filed Under: News, Offshore wind, Projects