Maryland Offshore Wind Area Slashed

Interior agency trims turbine sites over shipping safety concerns

The Obama administration took another step Monday toward opening the Mid-Atlantic coast for offshore wind development, but in the process slashed Maryland's potential stake in the developing new energy industry by more than half.

Pointing to concerns about shipping safety, the Department of Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement reduced the area off Ocean City where industrial wind turbines might be placed from 206 square nautical miles to 94 square nautical miles. Turbines could be placed from 10 nautical miles off the beach to 27 nautical miles out to sea.

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