Ocean City Council Says No to Visible Offshore Wind Turbines

The Mayor and City Council of Ocean City have unanimously approved a resolution in opposition to offshore wind turbines visible from this coastal town in the state of Maryland, US.

The resolution was approved in response to two offshore wind projects proposed to be built off Ocean City.

Two wind farm developers, US Wind and Deepwater Wind, have separately secured offshore wind renewable energy credits (ORECs) from the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) for two projects with a combined capacity of 368MW.

US Wind is proposing to build a 248MW wind farm some 15 miles off Ocean City. In April 2017, US Wind sent a letter to the town’s council to discuss a possibility of moving the project five miles further offshore.

The second project proposed to be built offshore Ocean City is Deepwater Wind’s 120MW Skipjack wind farm, located some 17 nautical miles northeast of Ocean City.

The resolution states that ”these proposed actions represent a significant threat to the economic welfare of the visitors, citizens, and the property owners of Ocean City, Maryland, who depend upon a clean and attractive natural environment for their livelihood and who would be irreparably harmed by the placement of these structures within visible distance of Ocean City.”

The resolution also proposes ”reasonable alternative locations” for the two projects ”east of the Delaware Bay shipping channel.”

The resolution will be submitted to the Governor of Maryland and the state’s congressional representatives.

Recent polls have shown that the majority of Marylanders support offshore wind projects off Ocean City.