The developer of a planned offshore wind farm has sternly cautioned Worcester County officials not to interfere with its plans, threatening a potentially hostile court battle in order to protect its investment.
“US Wind intends to litigate to the fullest extent to protect its constitutional and other rights to construct the offshore wind project,” wrote an attorney for the developer in a Dec. 30 letter addressed to county officials. “You are asked to immediately reverse course.”
The company reportedly wants to purchase two properties in the West Ocean City commercial fishing harbor for a future operations and maintenance facility, one that would service up to 114 turbines at the company’s planned wind farm, located 10.7 miles offshore.
Those two harborside properties happen to be long-time fish houses, Martin Fish House and Southern Connection Seafood. In a move to disrupt a potential sale, Worcester County officials last month said they hope to use eminent domain to acquire those properties themselves.
County Administrator Weston Young said he and other officials are soliciting outside counsel to begin that process. Faced with the eminent domain threat, “I think they’re trying to intimidate us,” Young said of US Wind. “We definitely take these types of threats seriously.”
He touted the outside-the-box move as a means of preserving the fishing industry in our area while fighting back against the wind farm.
The issue for Worcester is how deep green energy goes…there are very powerful people in the swamp who get their take off of all these deals, once the money is cleaned by USWind filtered back out to them by any variety of means. People who are invested in its success, but also get to write and pass the bills giving them tax breaks and subsidies. Wouldn’t shock me if there are people right in Worcester on the take as well…just publicly objecting to it for show, so they can still walk down their boardwalk and not be yelled at by locals.
With neighbors like those in WicoCo, who needs enemies?
US Winds has no authority to tell Worcester County what they can do.
?? US Winds !!
US Winds does not have a constitutional right to construct an offshore wind project on the east coast or anywhere else.
Hang on ’til Monday.
I was shocked to learn the Greater Salisbury articulates its goal of supporting wind turbines off OC on its website. They are becoming an increasingly bad actors on the shore under the leadership of Dunn and Gillis between this issue and the land and tax dollar giveaways in Salisbury.
Is that the same Gillis who sits on the Town of OC Planning Commission?
From the GSC website…
“OFFSHORE WIND
GSC is playing a strong regional role in advancing the Offshore Wind industry, working closely with the two entities who are bringing Offshore Wind energy to Maryland: Orsted and US Wind. We believe our region can be a key player in the Operations and Maintenance supply chain that will be needed over the next 20 years as Offshore Wind comes to the area. Orsted and US Wind will bring the largest wind turbines in the world off the coast of Ocean City in the next five years.”
Just wait – one of Trump’s EOs will be to suspend all offshore wind projects.
NO NO NO to wind power. You *ing politicians work for us, the citizens. We don’t want wind power at that level. we don’t have the right technology yet to make it efficient.