September 23, 2022 — Representatives from the two companies looking to build wind farms off the coast of Delaware and Maryland say it’s too early to tell if a recent ruling by a federal court judge saying General Electric cannot make or sell its Haliade-X turbine in the United States will lead to delays in getting the wind farms built.
U.S. District Court of Massachusetts Judge William Young ruled Sept. 7 that General Electric Co. is not allowed to produce its 850-foot-tall Haliade-X wind turbines in the United States. In June, a jury found the turbines infringed on patent owned by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S.
Ørsted spokesman Brady Walker said Skipjack Wind does not anticipate this decision will impact its timing.
“The project continues to develop its construction and operations plan in order to deliver clean energy to nearly 300,000 homes in the Delmarva region,” said Walker in an email Sept. 13.
In August 2020, Ørsted asked for, and then received, permission from the Maryland Public Service Commission to change the turbines it wanted to use from a smaller model to the Haliade-X.
Ørsted will follow any processes that are required by regulators, including the Maryland Public Service Commission and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said Brady.