Former Coastal Bays director hired by wind farm developer 

OCEAN CITY – With US Wind, one of the two companies pursuing an offshore wind energy farm off the coast of Ocean City, aiming to build bridges between stakeholders, the company has tapped a pair of familiar names and faces to handle the outreach.

In 2014, US Wind acquired an 80,000-acre federal lease area off the coast of Ocean City to develop an offshore wind energy farm. In 2017, the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) awarded US Wind the Offshore Renewable Energy Credits, or ORECs, for the first phase of its MarWin project.

Throughout the approval process, the company has conducted outreach with the community, recreational and commercial fishermen, conservation groups and other stakeholders. This week, US Wind announced it has hired two local community leaders with considerable experience in outreach to lead community liaison efforts in both Maryland and Delaware.

Longtime Worcester County resident Dave Wilson will serve as the Maryland Development Manager for US Wind. According to a press release announcing the move, Wilson has spent 26 years building bipartisan relationships with both business and conservation communities to restore the coastal bays watershed, promote tourism and protect birdlife.

Wilson served as both public outreach coordinator and executive director for the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, a member of the National Estuary Program. Throughout his career, Wilson has collaborated with elected officials, recreational and commercial fishermen, developers, scientists, residents and the media on projects benefiting Ocean City and the surrounding areas.

“I’ve spend the bulk of my career working to advance projects that benefit both the environment and the residents of Ocean City,” he said. “I look forward to collaborating with elected leaders, residents and businesses to further US Wind’s efforts to bring clean energy to Maryland.”

Wilson sits on the Maryland Sea Grant External Advisory Committee and is the current president of the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership. The former baseball player is also an avid fisherman, kayaker, and cyclist. His family has owned residential and commercial property in Ocean City for over three decades.

US Wind has also hired Mike Dunmyer to serve as the Delaware Development Manager for the company. Dunmyer is an ocean environmentalist with an extensive business background. After a long career as a senior executive for a Fortune 500 company, Dunmyer served as executive director for Ocean Champions, a bipartisan political organization focused entirely on ocean health.

Dunmyer served as a commissioner for the town of Dewey Beach, where he partnered with the Center for Inland Bays to address that town’s tidal flooding problems. Dunmyer has an MBA from Duke University and a bachelors in economics from Washington and Lee University.

“I am honored to bring my business experience, passion for the ocean and the love of the Delaware coast to US Wind,” he said. “I share US Wind’s commitment to responsibly providing clean energy to the Delmarva region.”

US Wind CEO Jeff Grybowski said the addition of Wilson and Dunmyer will help build bridges between the company and the Maryland and Delaware coastal communities.

“Getting out into the community – sharing information about our project and hearing from our neighbors – is one of the highest priorities we have as a company,” he said. “As we work to provide clean energy, good-paying jobs and environmental benefits to the greater Delmarva region, Mike and Dave’s outreach will be critical component of US Wind’s success.”