Offshore Wind Update: Delaware Supreme Court Upholds SB159, but Questions for Ratepayers and Local Communities Remain

The Delaware Supreme Court issued a major ruling May 26 upholding Senate Bill 159, the controversial law passed by the Delaware General Assembly after Sussex County Council denied the conditional use permit for the proposed US Wind related electrical substation near the Indian River Power Plant.

The ruling reinforced that although Delaware counties exercise zoning authority, the General Assembly ultimately retains the power to modify, reclaim, or override those delegated powers. The decision clears the way for the substation project tied to US Wind’s offshore wind development to proceed.

However, the broader offshore wind debate in Delaware is far from resolved.

The Court Ruled on Authority, Not Offshore Wind Economics

Importantly, the Court’s decision addressed constitutional and legislative authority questions surrounding SB159. The Court did not evaluate whether offshore wind development will lower electric bills for Delaware households, improve long term grid reliability, protect fisheries, or prove economically sustainable over time.

Almost immediately following the ruling, state officials described the decision as a major victory for ratepayers and affordable energy. Those claims, however, remain heavily dependent on projections, assumptions, and long range modeling rather than demonstrated operating results from completed offshore wind projects in the United States.

At the same time Delaware officials continue promoting offshore wind as a solution to rising electricity prices, significant warning signs continue to emerging throughout the offshore wind industry nationally.

 

National Offshore Wind Problems Continue Emerging

One of the nation’s flagship offshore wind projects, Vineyard Wind, continues facing operational, financial, and legal turmoil. Court filings in Massachusetts, as reported by The Citizen’s Taskforce On Windpower – Maine, showed the project producing far below its advertised 806 megawatt nameplate capacity, with actual average output significantly lower during certain operating periods. The project also became the center of national attention after a major turbine blade failure scattered debris across Nantucket beaches in 2024, as reported by Town & County of Nantucket website. Ongoing disputes involving Vineyard Wind and turbine manufacturer GE Vernova have continued raising questions surrounding blade reliability, testing standards, maintenance requirements, long term offshore turbine durability, and the broader financial sustainability of offshore wind development, as reported in Energy News Beat.

Economic pressures across the offshore wind sector are also becoming increasingly visible. Major international energy companies have reduced or scaled back offshore wind investments as project costs, financing expenses, supply chain problems, and construction risks continue rising. In March, TotalEnergies exited major U.S. offshore wind lease positions after publicly criticizing the economics of offshore wind development, as reported by Energy Watch.

BloombergNEF also recently reported that clean energy investment among several major oil companies fell sharply in 2025 as firms shifted capital back toward conventional energy production.

Meanwhile, concerns continue growing throughout regional electricity markets regarding transmission costs, grid reliability, and the declining capacity value assigned to intermittent energy sources during periods of peak electricity demand.

CRI Litigation and Federal Challenges Continue

Although the Delaware Supreme Court upheld SB159 and the State’s authority to override Sussex County’s permit denial, significant additional legal challenges involving offshore wind development remain ongoing.

CRI remains actively involved in separate litigation challenging DNREC’s approval of the US Wind coastal zone permit. That case raises questions involving environmental review, permitting procedures, and compliance with Delaware’s Coastal Zone Act.

At the federal level, litigation involving BOEM approvals and offshore wind permitting authority also continues moving through federal court. Those disputes involve federal environmental review requirements, offshore permitting procedures, and broader questions surrounding offshore wind approvals along the East Coast.

In practical terms, the US Wind project still faces multiple ongoing legal challenges. CRI remains a plaintiff in litigation challenging DNREC’s coastal permitting approvals and also remains involved in federal litigation involving BOEM approvals and offshore wind permitting authority.

Local Community and Fisheries Concerns Remain

Community concerns also remain significant throughout Delaware and the Mid Atlantic region.

A recent University of Delaware workshop held May 7 at the Milford Public Library discussing public perceptions of offshore wind included presentation and discussion of survey findings indicating many participants believed local communities and fishing interests have not been adequately informed or represented during the offshore wind approval process. According to an attendee summary of the workshop, participants also discussed skepticism toward fisheries mitigation funds and community benefit agreements, while concerns over fisheries, wildlife impacts, transparency, and local engagement remained prominent.

The fishing issue remains particularly important along the Mid Atlantic coast. Commercial and recreational fisheries across Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and North Carolina collectively support billions in economic activity and thousands of jobs, Fisheries Economics of the United States | NOAA Fisheries. Fishing groups continue warning that offshore wind construction, vessel traffic, cable routes, and restricted access areas could significantly disrupt long established fishing grounds and supporting coastal industries. Some offshore wind opponents and fishing advocates have also raised concerns that changes to port infrastructure and increased offshore industrial activity could place additional pressure on local fish houses, processors, and fishing dependent communities. 

The Broader Delaware Question

The broader policy debate now confronting Delaware extends well beyond renewable energy alone.

The Delaware Supreme Court has now confirmed that the State possesses the legal authority to override local zoning decisions involving major energy infrastructure projects. But the broader public debate over whether the State should exercise that authority so aggressively, and whether offshore wind will ultimately benefit Delaware ratepayers, remains very much unsettled.

Regardless of one’s position on offshore wind itself, the issues now confronting Delaware involve far more than turbines off the coast. They involve constitutional authority, state versus local governance, fisheries impacts, industrialization of coastal waters, grid reliability, permitting transparency, infrastructure costs, and long term energy affordability for Delaware families and businesses.

The Caesar Rodney Institute will continue monitoring and participating in these issues involving offshore wind permitting, energy policy, environmental review, constitutional authority, and government accountability in Delaware.

If you support CRI’s independent policy research, public education, and ongoing work involving offshore wind, energy affordability, environmental review, and government accountability, please consider making a contribution to support our mission.