OCEAN CITY – Legislation passed in the General Assembly to expand offshore wind energy in Maryland is being met with both praise and frustration from local stakeholders.
On Monday, the Maryland General Assembly passed the Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resources (POWER) Act, which will, among other things, increase the state’s offshore wind generation goals from roughly 2 gigawatts to 8.5 gigawatts by 2031, improve its transmission infrastructure, and provide a pathway to future procurement of offshore wind energy in the state.
Proponents of the bill – introduced by Del. Lorig Charkoudian in the House and Sen. Katie Fry Hester in the Senate – say the legislation will advance Maryland’s clean energy initiatives and put the state at the forefront of the offshore wind energy industry.
In separate statements this week, both Ørsted and US Wind, two companies developing offshore wind energy projects off the coast of Maryland, praised the bill’s passage.
“We applaud the Maryland General Assembly’s passage of the POWER Act and commend Governor Moore for his bold vision to make Maryland an offshore wind leader,” said Maddy Voytek, Ørsted’s deputy head of government affairs and market strategy in Maryland. “Ørsted is proud to be making significant commitments to develop supply chain, manufacturing, and operations capabilities across Maryland as we develop Skipjack Wind. We look forward to a strong and lasting partnership with the state as we help it achieve 8.5 gigawatts of offshore wind power and 100% clean energy by 2035.”
GO NUCLEAR !!!