OCEAN CITY – Officials say they continue to monitor offshore wind projects off the coast of Ocean City.
On Monday, City Manager Terry McGean presented the Mayor and Council with a quarterly update on offshore wind activities near Ocean City. As the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) reviews public comments on US Wind’s offshore project, to be located off the coast of the resort, officials say the town would continue to advocate for a “no-build” alternative.
“I think it’s very clear the position of the Mayor and Council at this point is we’re in total opposition to the US Wind project,” said Mayor Rick Meehan. “It’s hard to believe almost seven years ago, Terry and I attended the first meeting of the Public Service Commission in the Berlin library. Seven years is a long time, and we tried to approach this many different ways to protect the Town of Ocean City, our future and our viewshed and our economy. And the door has been closed in our face at every single governmental level. So the town is unified in its stance, and we are in total opposition.”
In a presentation Monday, McGean offered several updates on various offshore wind projects taking place off the mid-Atlantic coastline. Regarding the US Wind project, McGean said city officials attended both in-person and virtual hearings this fall to voice the town’s opposition to the company’s construction of more than 100 wind turbines roughly nine miles from Ocean City.
“The in-person hearings, I think everyone would agree, were very disappointing,” he told the Mayor and Council. “They were really workshops and the only way the public could offer comments was by literally standing at a desk and talking to a court reporter.”