An Opportunity for Neighbors in Ocean City to Voice Opinions on Offshore Wind - WBOC TV 16
An Opportunity for Neighbors in Ocean City to Voice Opinions on Offshore Wind | Latest News | wboc.com
OCEAN CITY, Md. -- On Tuesday night, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held a public meeting at Ocean City Elementary. However, many thought it was a public hearing, which caused some confusion and frustration.
The meeting was more of an open house. Designed to inform people on BOEM's draft environmental impact study of US Winds offshore wind proposal.
People were able to speak with experts on offshore wind and were allotted three minutes with a court stenographer who took down comments. But, it was not the 'stand up and talk' format many thought they were walking into.
By 5:00 p.m., hundreds of people had funneled into Ocean City Elementary, eager to voice any complaints or compliments. Ocean City's Mayor, Rick Meehan, said the lack of opportunity to speak out loud did not allow the meeting to start off on the right foot.
"They were mad and a lot of people left," said Meehan. "They were very discouraged by the opportunity that was presented to them to speak on something that is very important to this area."
Kate McCloskey said she was irritated after putting in a lot of prep work.
"I have done hours and hours of research to be here tonight to stand up against wind energy," said McCloskey. "I'm all about finding green, sustainable, affordable energy but wind just isn't it."
Other's had a few thoughts about the 80,000 acre lease area, created by BOEM. The lease area is the designated spot where US Wind and other offshore wind companies plan on installing turbines and other structures.
US Winds plan would allow for up to 114 turbines, anywhere between 11 and 27 miles off the coast. The turbines, which would be about one mile apart from each other, would only disturb 25 acres of the total lease area.
Commercial fisherman like Jimmy Hahn are worried about the future.
"I'm scared to death that the windmills are going to kill our fishing industry," said Hahn.
Hahn said the lease area is the primary fishing spot out of Ocean City and is also used by fisherman from Delaware and New Jersey.
Dave Wilson, US Wind's Maryland Development Manager, said the turbines could actually impact fishing in a positive way.
"Addressing climate change, that's the positive, it's also creating structure for fishing," said Wilson. "I just want to make sure people know they can transit the area and they can fish it with impunity."
While there was a great deal of concerned neighbors at Tuesday's meeting, not everybody views the turbines as a negative.
"I actually think that what US Wind is proposing, 11 miles out is very reasonable," said Cindy Dillon. "I think actually that the turbines are beautiful and they are certainly preferable to losing our planet."
Wilson also noted that the turbines could be a step forward in protecting the environment for future generations.
"With the lease area we have a legal obligation to fill it, but you know I'd say we also have a moral obligation for our kids and grandkids to get this done," said Wilson.
The lease area, according to Wilson, was also chosen after over five years of research.
"This lease area is just kind of that sweet spot where it's not impacting birds, it's outside the ten mile typical passer marine migration, it's not affecting whales, it's outside of commercial fishing traffic," said Wilson.
Another meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 26th at Indian River High School and will begin at 5:00 p.m. BOEM said it will be exactly like Tuesday's meeting, so it will not be an open-mic format. The public comment period on BOEMs draft environmental impact study ends on November 20th.
People can submit comments through BOEMs website using this link.
Related Knowledge Center: Offshore wind energy
Over the next decade, U.S. offshore wind power is expected to grow from a single 30-megawatt wind farm off Rhode Island to more than 2,000 MW of capacity along the Atlantic Seaboard. There are contracts for wind power off the coasts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the United States has over 4,000 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential, enough to power the country four times over.
The growth in part being spurred by state solicitations, including in New York, where then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set a commitment of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, and in Connecticut, where in June 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed legislation authorizing the construction of 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
The offshore development is also being driven by an investment tax credit set to end in December 2019 and is equal to 12 percent of expenditures. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced a bill to extend the tax credit for up to eight years.
The Interior Department has held eight competitive lease sales that resulted in 15 offshore wind leases over 1.7 million acres that has the potential for 21 GW of capacity. In February 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completed a bidding process that realized $4.37 billion for 488,000 acres across six lease areas in federal waters off New York and New Jersey.
Projects have also been proposed off the Southeast coast, off California and Hawaii, and for the Great Lakes.