Maryland's Governor Wants Offshore Wind

Martin O'Malley, the governor of Maryland, announced yesterday that he supported the idea of an offshore wind energy project to help fill Maryland's energy needs.

There's one project in particular that O'Malley has his eye on. Members of the state government of Delaware are supporting efforts to build a wind farm off Delaware's coast, approximately 11 miles out from Rehoboth Beach. The Delaware wind farm would be the first such project in the U.S. and might eventually reach down Maryland's coast as far as Ocean City — a town that gets an economic boost from beach-loving tourists. The Delaware project is currently in the midst of the permitting process.

Bluewater Wind is behind the development of the Delaware Offshore Wind Park, as the project is known. Bluewater Wind hopes to provide approximately 29 percent of the needs of the local power company, Delmarva Power, at least for residential and small business uses. Bluewater Wind is careful to note that, as the wind turbines would be located at least 11 miles offshore, they would be difficult to see from shore — practically impossible on all but the clearest days.

O'Malley made his statement of support at a news conference where he was asked about his opinion on the recent lift of an executive order that prohibited offshore oil drilling along the U.S. coastline. O'Mally harshly criticized President Bush's decision, but mentioned that there is "one offshore effort I would like to go in on," referring to Delaware's plans for an offshore wind farm.

At this time, there are no offshore wind projects in the U.S. Both Denmark and England have had success with offshore wind turbines. In an interview with the Baltimore Sun, Frank Maisano, a spokesman for Bluewater Wind, said: "Offshore wind turbines can be more expensive to build than those on land, but the wind is often more consistent and stronger at sea." Bluewater has put proposals in to Maryland officials previously, but hadn't received a positive response. There are also a number of offshore wind projects at the proposal level in coastal states along the Atlantic. Bluewater Wind isn't the only company interested in building offshore wind turbines.

O'Malley has previously blocked proposals to build wind farms in state forests in Western Maryland. It seems that O'Malley sees the two projects very differently: he argued that state forests were inappropriate places for the sort of industrial development necessary to build wind turbines. But offshore turbines, as long as suitable measures are taken to protect marine habits, seem to have a much better chance of getting through the Maryland bureaucracy.

Photo — Phault