Disheartening. Deleterious. The Devil.
These and other harsh words were spoken Tuesday as county officials excoriated a local environmental nonprofit for accepting $125,000 in donations from the developer of proposed offshore wind project on Maryland’s coastline.
“Your organization sold out to a big business. It sounds to me that was a payoff to keep you neutral – a payoff to keep you quiet,” said District 4 (Western) County Commissioner Ted Elder. “I’m sorry, that’s the way I feel.”
Elder’s tongue lashing was directed at Kevin Smith, the executive director of the Maryland Coastal Bays Program. Smith came before the commissioners Tuesday to ask for a letter of support than would help the conservationist organization secure a multimillion-dollar state grant.
Instead, Smith was scolded not only for Coastal Bays’ neutral stance on wind energy, but for the organization’s acceptance of monetary donations over a three-year period from US Wind. The developer plans to install 114 wind turbines off the Ocean City shoreline to generate electricity for the mid-Atlantic.
Wind power is not without its problems. District 1 (Pocomoke) Commissioner Caryn Abbott mentioned a July incident when splintered bits of a detached fiberglass turbine blade washed ashore on the Massachusetts island of Nantucket.
“With just one blade breaking off, those beaches were closed for weeks. God knows how much revenue was lost. It’s disheartening when environmental groups in our own country are accepting money,” she said. “What did they expect for that money?
Thank you to the Commissioners who voted NO. 1 Timothy 6:10
Think the locals just can’t accept that the fix is in! The Governor, The Greens and Federal Government wants “The Green New Deal” they don’t give a dam about what people in Worcester County think.
Maybe the Trump administration will see it different so that why they have to push thru as much of this as they can now?
What I don’t understand is that with miles of nothing below Chincoteague to the Bridge Tunnel they don’t put that crap down there?
I’m not being mean here, but why would you want to put the burden on the eastern shore of Virginia ?
Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project will include up to 176 turbines, located roughly 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. The project is the largest offshore wind project in the United States approved to date.
My guess as to why in Ocean City :
Navigable waterways
The pier is already there
Road Infrastructure already in place
The energy generated by the Maryland Offshore Wind Project will power homes in the Delmarva Peninsula, including those in Maryland and Delaware:
Maryland Offshore Wind Project
This project is expected to generate over 2 gigawatts of clean energy, enough to power more than 718,000 homes. The project is located about 8.7 nautical miles offshore Maryland.
US Wind
This company’s project is expected to generate enough electricity to power 92,000 homes. The project is located about 20 miles off the Ocean City coast.
The electricity generated by wind turbines at utility-scale plants is transferred to the grid and powers communities. Buyers of wind and solar energy include: Utilities, Cooperatives, Municipalities, and Fortune 500 companies.
And the rich get richer ??