FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | August 26, 2025
Contact: Sarah Fulton (302) 401-1114
DOVER — Members of the Delaware Senate Majority Caucus are punching back at the Trump Administration’s plans to repeal permits for a critical offshore wind project that promises to add needed electric generation to Delaware’s power grid.
“For the majority of Delawareans who believe climate change is a serious threat to future generations, the Administration’s efforts to block Sussex County’s offshore wind project is recklessly irresponsible,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola (D-Newark). “But the more immediate consequence of this impulsive and short-sighted action will be driving up the cost of energy for everyone.”
That’s because the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that Delaware uses almost 100 times more energy than we produce here, which means we import the vast majority of our energy from regional grid operators that source energy in other states.
“When we are at the mercy of others to meet our energy needs, we are more susceptible to volatility in the marketplace that can lead to the kinds of big spikes in energy bills we saw this year,” said Sen. Stephanie Hansen (D-Middletown), who chairs the Senate Environmental, Energy & Transportation Committee. “We need to diversify our energy production, not simply because it’s good for the planet, but because it will directly lead to lower energy bills for Delawareans up and down our state.”
The $1 billion project, led by US Wind, received all requisite federal permits prior to Donald Trump taking office for his second term this January. Sussex County had withheld a permit for a corresponding electric substation, which led to a delay in the project. In June, the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 159, which required the permitting of the substation given that an identical substation was already cited on the same parcel.
“The Republicans who opposed our effort to resolve the substation permitting issue did so based on the premise of preserving ‘local control.’ But now they are actively cheerleading the President’s politically-motivated dismantling of a project that would have had a monumental benefit to our entire State,” said Sen. Ray Seigfried (D-Arden). “It’s hypocrisy at its worst and it’s going to have real consequences beyond the shorelines of Sussex County. Areas of my district like Claymont, for example, have borne the brunt of the fossil fuel industry for generations. From an environmental justice aspect alone, my neighbors, who live 100 miles to the north, would greatly benefit from new, clean power generation coming onto the grid.”
Sen. Russ Huxtable (D-Lewes), who represents many of the Delaware beaches, says the Trump Administration’s efforts to unwind the federal permitting process will directly impact Sussex County’s economic development efforts.
“Adding reliable, affordable power to our grid right here in Sussex County wouldn’t simply improve residential energy affordability,” Huxtable said. “It would encourage industry and other businesses to locate here given our increased capacity. It is hugely unfortunate to see our leaders abandoning key principles around infrastructure investment and economic growth in favor of ideological fights that falsely try to paint green energy as a bogeyman.”
Senate Democrats will continue to monitor the permitting situation and the Trump Administration’s legal maneuvering, and will engage our own Department of Justice as appropriate in pursuit of a just outcome that moves Delaware forward.
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