Deepwater Wind is accelerating the development of its Skipjack Wind Farm, a 120 MW offshore facility serving Maryland’s eastern shore, by appointing new hires.

Deepwater Wind has named Joy Weber of Annapolis, Md., as Skipjack Wind Farm’s development manager. She will lead the project’s local development efforts, including building relationships with Maryland communities and companies. Deepwater Wind has also hired Whitney Fiore of St. Michaels, Md., to serve as manager of permitting and environmental affairs. She will lead the federal, state and local permitting of the Skipjack Wind Farm. In addition, Fiore will manage the project’s science and data collection program.

Most recently, Weber worked as a lawyer for the Maryland firm Rifkin, Weiner, Livingston LLC, where she represented renewable energy firms, public utilities and others in the energy industry. In that role, she advocated at the Maryland General Assembly for the ultimate passage of state legislation encouraging the development of offshore wind. She also served on the legislative policy committee for the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and the board of the Maryland Government Relations Association.

Fiore has worked for more than 20 years in natural resources, environmental permitting and regulatory compliance. Her prior roles included consulting work for the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation on offshore wind development and environmental restoration projects.

According to the company, Weber and Fiore are the first of several local hires planned for Deepwater Wind’s Maryland team. In the coming months, Deepwater Wind will open its Maryland development office in Annapolis, where the local team will be based.

“We’ve put together a first-rate team, led by Joy and Whitney, to put our plans for the Skipjack Wind Farm into high gear,” says Jeffrey Grybowski, CEO of Deepwater Wind, which is based out of Providence, R.I. “Their expertise will help us launch Maryland’s offshore wind industry and bring affordable, clean energy to the Eastern Shore.”

Deepwater Wind has also assembled a local team of biologists, engineers, marine archaeologists and other researchers, led by Stantec Consulting Services Inc.’s Laurel, Md., office, to conduct marine and environmental assessments to support the project’s state and federal permitting. The Maryland-based environmental firms supporting this effort are Chesapeake Environmental Management, Coastal Resources Inc., AKRF, and R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates.

Deepwater Wind is also in the process of assembling a team to collect geophysical, geotechnical, archaeological and benthic (sea floor) data this summer to guide the development of the wind farm.

The company expects to submit its permit applications in 2019. Located over 19.5 miles to the northeast of Ocean City, the project will be far enough away so that it will not have a significant impact on beach views from Maryland or Delaware, notes Deepwater Wind.