The meeting came at the request of Rick Meehan, Ocean City mayor, after U.S. Wind, the company looking to build the turbines greatly increased the height of the structures to 853 feet. Meehan is concerned the size will ruin the view of the ocean, consequently hurting tourism and property values.
The meeting came at the request of Rick Meehan, Ocean City mayor, after U.S. Wind, the company looking to build the turbines greatly increased the height of the structures to 853 feet. Meehan is concerned the size will ruin the view of the ocean, consequently hurting tourism and property values.
The controversial proposal to put wind turbines off the coast of Ocean City will be heard before the Maryland Public Service Commission Saturday.
The meeting came at the request of Rick Meehan, Ocean City mayor, after U.S. Wind, the company looking to build the turbines greatly increased the height of the structures to 853 feet. Meehan is concerned the size will ruin the view of the ocean, consequently hurting tourism and property values. U.S. claims larger turbines means fewer of them will need to be built farther off the coast, upwards of twenty miles, thus minimizing their affect on the view. Meehan thinks they would actually be much closer to the shore.
"Why don't we do this right. Why don't we address our energy …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]The controversial proposal to put wind turbines off the coast of Ocean City will be heard before the Maryland Public Service Commission Saturday.
The meeting came at the request of Rick Meehan, Ocean City mayor, after U.S. Wind, the company looking to build the turbines greatly increased the height of the structures to 853 feet. Meehan is concerned the size will ruin the view of the ocean, consequently hurting tourism and property values. U.S. claims larger turbines means fewer of them will need to be built farther off the coast, upwards of twenty miles, thus minimizing their affect on the view. Meehan thinks they would actually be much closer to the shore.
"Why don't we do this right. Why don't we address our energy concerns, provide the clean energy, create the jobs, address our economy, but don't do it at the detriment to the town of Ocean City. Let's move them a little bit further to the east," Meehan said.
The Maryland project is partnered with another proposed wind farm off the coast of Delaware, called the Skipjack. Orsted, the builder of that project, has also proposed taller turbines. In a statement, Orsted said, in part, "We look forward to demonstrating the benefits of our choice for turbine technology Saturday."
Due to the public interest in this project, the meeting will be held at the Ocean City Convention Center, Saturday, January 18, at 12:00 pm. The public is invited.