JULY 3, 2025 — A bill sponsored by upstate legislators seeking to overturn a Sussex County Council decision on a controversial land use issue was significantly modified on the last night of the legislative session.
Senate Bill 159 sought to reverse a county council ruling that denied a conditional-use permit for an electrical substation in Dagsboro. That facility would connect a proposed offshore wind farm to the regional power grid.
Twenty-eight House and Senate Democrats sponsored SB 159, only one of which, State Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall (D-Rehoboth Beach), represents Sussex County constituents.
State Rep. Valerie Jones Giltner (R-Georgetown), in photo, joined most other Sussex County legislators in opposing SB 159, maintaining that local elected leaders answer directly to the communities impacted by their decisions and those choices should not be overturned by distant, unaccountable officials.
Despite opposition to the bill, predominantly from House and Senate Republicans, it was passed on the final night of the 2025 session on Monday evening and signed into law by Gov. Matt Meyer.
However, in a hard-won concession, Senate Bill 199 was also enacted. The measure delays the effective date of SB 159 until January 31, 2026. The seven-month timeout will give the Delaware Superior Court an opportunity to rule on a pending lawsuit between the wind farm developer and Sussex County.
The future of the proposed 120-turbine offshore wind farm project, planned for a site southeast of Fenwick Island, remains uncertain, even if the substation is eventually permitted to proceed.
Several proposed offshore wind farm projects along the Northeast U.S. coast have been cancelled in recent years due to various factors, including regulatory challenges, supply chain issues, and financial viability concerns. The most recent cancellation, involving a New Jersey project, took place earlier this month. Looming decisions being made at the federal level further cloud the project’s prospects.
