The Trade Council has been involved in the planning of the new offshore wind farm in Maryland.

“At a very early stage Maryland was in contact with us in Chicago to learn about how
to best build an offshore wind farm,” says Claus Andersen, director of the Trade
Council’s Wind Energy Advisory team, which is headquartered
in Chicago. “From there, it was natural that we became government advisors on the project.”

This means that Danish companies have unique access to new contracts when America’s
first offshore wind farm is to be built on the U.S. East Coast.

The United States is the world’s second largest emitter
of greenhouse gases. However, President Obama wants to reduce CO2 emissions by 17 percent by 2020 compared to the level in 2005. Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley recently introduced a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in his state 25% by 2020. A 200 MW offshore wind project will reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by over 378,000 tons per year and promises improved public health outcomes, cleaner air and cleaner water. The
President’s Climate Plan includes a goal to issue permits for 10 GW renewables on public lands – including federal seabed. This is equivalent to 25 times the size of
Anholt Offshore Wind Farm.

Several US states are planning to take advantage of the wind resources off US coasts but so far none of the projects have materialized to mature wind farms contributing to the US power grid. This is partly due to uncertainty on tender conditions and operation that have prompted most investors to stay away.

In the National Budget 2013, the Government and the Alliance set aside five million Danish Kroner [approx. USD 1 million] over two years to establish bilateral cooperation with one or two industrialized countries. The funds will primarily be used to remunerate Danish energy experts and to a lesser extent external advisors. The offshore wind farm off Maryland has been selected as the first project.

The cooperation will be on issues related to regulating and managing the risks associated with Maryland’s tender for establishing an offshore wind farm of 200 MW. The implementing regulation for the offshore wind farm must be prepared by next summer and it is expected that other US coastal states with plans to exploit wind resources could benefit from the experiences generated though the cooperation between Denmark and Maryland.

Claus Andersen hopes that the Danish wind industry will take advantage of the close link between the Danish and American authorities. Several states have been instructed
to reduce their CO2 – emissions up to 30% by 2025.

“This is really just the beginning of a U.S. offshore industry and through the Trade Council’s Wind Energy Advisory in Chicago Denmark has the opportunity to become
involved right from the start. I hope that companies will seize this opportunity,” says Claus Andersen.