Mary O'Donnell, the owner of three of Kingston's disputed-wind turbines, has gone on the record. She is expecting the wind turbines to be repossessed.

O'Donnell's Marion Drive wind turbines have been out of operation since the night of February 8, when Winter Storm Nemo brought heavy snow and tropical storm-force winds to Kingston. ..."They can't perform in very high winds."

"It's massive. It's as large as Manhattan. And it's in the middle of my Senate district," O'Leary said of the Cape Wind project. "There's been no debate within the law-making body about the project and what the state's role should be in terms of the size and scale. I think we need that debate."

Gov. Martin O'Malley said Saturday that his administration will not allow commercial wind turbines on state forest land, ending a heated four-month debate. "While we must continue to explore and make progress on creating a more sustainable and independent energy future for Maryland, we will not do so at the expense of the special lands we hold in the public trust," the Democratic governor said. O'Malley spoke at a news conference at a scenic overlook in the Savage River State Forest. ...The state sought public comment on the concept, bringing 1,400 responses, 83 percent of them opposed, DNR spokeswoman Olivia Campbell said.

Mr. OMalley's proposal, which would require utility companies in Maryland to enter into a minimum 20-year wind-energy contract, failed to garner support from either Democrats or Republicans largely because it would increase consumer energy costs.

Concerns about consumer costs have been the main hang-up with the plan to develop a wind farm off the coast of Ocean City. Construction and maintenance is projected at well over $1 billion. Energy companies would pass that cost on to consumers.

Gov. Martin O'Malley admits he's not really sure how to best solve complex problems relating to looming energy shortfalls. But he said Saturday that state regulators are exploring how to direct utilities to find or produce new power generation sources. O'Malley said regulators are looking at ways to make companies address any "supply shortfalls that the market is not reasonably expected to deliver in time for us to keep the lights on in 2011 or 2012 and the years that follow."

Under the governor's bill, the state would require Maryland's electricity suppliers to furnish up to 2.5 percent of their power from offshore turbines by 2017. And it offers a subsidy to encourage the construction of enough turbines off the coast to generate 1 percent of the state's energy needs, by guaranteeing developers a fixed price for the power they produce.

In all, nearly 100 people attended the 45-minute presentation. After the meeting, Fannie Johnson, an Oakland native, thanked Griffin for helping to preserve "God's country." Delegate Wendell Beitzel, who in January joined state Sen. George Edwards in opposing the placement of wind turbines on public lands, called O'Malley's news "a wonderful announcement." "We were real concerned about the potential loss of our state parks and public lands," Beitzel said. "This city guy gets it," Griffin told Beitzel of O'Malley, a former Baltimore mayor. Edgerley noted that projects such as the one proposed by U.S. Wind Force on Meadow Mountain could create jobs. But much of the criticism of this particular project was its placement on public land, he said. "I think the issue of where they go has been resolved," Edgerley said. ...Former state Sen. John Bambacus, an opponent of wind turbines on state land, felt his concerns had been listened to by local officials and O'Malley, who noted Bambacus' effort during his remarks. Bambacus said he woke up Saturday morning "cautiously optimistic" about O'Malley's announcement.

O'Malley's offshore wind legislation, which his administration has not yet introduced, will direct state regulators to require Maryland's utilities to award long-term contracts to procure certain amounts of wind energy. State energy officials have projected that the first wind turbines could operate off Maryland's coast as soon as 2015.

One of the remaining two African American lawmakers who had opposed the governor's plan, Sen. Catherine E. Pugh (D-Baltimore) ,helped negotiate $10 million in aid to minority-owned businesses that made the proposal palatable to the NAACP, said Maryland state conference president Gerald Stansbury.

The governor talked at length about developing clean, renewable energy sources, whether it be solar power, wind or otherwise. A wind energy coalition has applied to build wind turbines on state land in Allegany and Garrett counties. O'Malley said that a "balance" must be struck between harnessing renewable energy sources and preserving Mountain Maryland's scenic beauty. "We did not want to make a decision without hearing from everybody," said O'Malley, who said that the western part of the state is "one of the most beautiful places that God put on the planet."

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley says he is ready to promote offshore wind energy in this year's General Assembly but suggests his proposal will be less aggressive than one that failed in the 2011 legislature. Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, hinted last week that he will push for legislation that encourages utilities to buy energy credits from offshore wind firms.

Gov. Martin O'Malley has scheduled a trip to western Maryland to announce whether his administration will allow wind turbines on state forest land. ...The planned announcement will cap four months of heated debate over a company's proposal to lease and clear hundreds of acres in the western mountains to erect about 100 turbines for electricity generation.

Gov. Martin O'Malley has decided against allowing private companies to build windmills on state park land in western Maryland, WBAL TV 11 News has learned. The governor strongly supports developing solar and wind energy. Wind power is a pollution-free energy source that can generate enough electricity to power 55,000 households. But clear-cutting acres of state forests to install the windmills is being met with overwhelming public opposition, and the governor is choosing to put the quality-of-life of those most impacted ahead of profits, 11 News reporter David Collins said.

Gov. Martin O'Malley plans to reintroduce a bill to provide funding for an offshore wind farm - legislation that has twice failed to make it out of the General Assembly, an administrations spokeswoman said Wednesday.

In a sweetener for the power industry, the administration has scrapped the old bill's requirement that utilities sign long-term contracts under which they would have had to purchase off-shore wind energy. ...But the new proposal would still provide a market for the wind farm's energy by requiring suppliers to get a set amount of their power from wind.

O'Malley fielded tough questions Thursday about a package of incentives for the wind energy industry from members of the House Economic Matters Committee, who said the plan would cause everyone's energy costs to rise while funneling profits to a small group of developers. The governor already had run into resistance in other areas.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013 passed in the House of Delegates by a 86-48 vote on Friday, much to the chagrin of some Eastern Shore delegation members. The bill proposes to build an offshore wind energy facility at least 10 miles off the coast of Ocean City.

Governor Martin O'Malley appears to have cleared a hurdle in his quest to put a wind farm off the coast of Ocean City. It's a renewable energy project supporters say will reduce global warming. Political reporter Pat Warren has more on the plan.