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Sunday, July 06, 2014

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR ISSUES FINAL SALE NOTICE FOR MARYLAND OFFSHORE ‘WIND ENERGY AREA’

ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 2, 2014) -- Today, the United States Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued the Final Sale Notice for Maryland’s offshore Wind Energy Area (WEA) -- the last major regulatory step  before BOEM can auction the lease areas within the WEA.  The auction for the nearly 80,000 acres offshore Maryland will occur on August 19, 2014. 
“To combat climate change, we must develop cleaner, renewable sources of energy -- and today's announcement is a tremendous step forward for the U.S. offshore wind industry,” said Governor O’Malley.  “As we continue our work to drive up renewable energy generation in Maryland by 20 percent by 2022, the O’Malley-Brown Administration is committed to continuing to work with our federal partners to do everything we can to meet this goal and create a stronger, more sustainable future for generations to come.

“Maryland is a leading force for building a clean and sustainable energy future,” said Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.  “Thanks to Governor O’Malley’s leadership and significant stakeholder involvement through BOEM’s Maryland Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force, we have reached another milestone as we strengthen our nation’s foothold in the new energy frontier.”
The Maryland WEA covers approximately 94 square nautical miles of ocean beginning 10 nautical miles (approx. 11.5 miles) off the shores of Ocean City, Maryland.  The area is further subdivided into northern and southern lease areas in order to ensure efficient use of the available area and support competition.  BOEM has solicited input from developers and the public regarding this area, most recently, in December of 2013, through a Proposed Sale Notice.
As noted by Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) Director Abigail Ross Hopper, “Today’s action represents the culmination of years of comprehensive marine spatial planning work with maritime stakeholders, coastal communities, academic institutions, and Maryland businesses.  This collaboration will ensure that offshore wind energy can be developed in harmony with the environment and other users of the oceans.”
 MEA and other Maryland agencies have invested significant resources in atmospheric, ecological, and geophysical surveys of the WEA, making it the most closely studied area of the Outer Continental Shelf under consideration for offshore wind development.  Major surveys of marine mammals and other wildlife in the area are continuing to ensure that offshore wind projects can be developed without impacting the marine environment. 

For more information about this initiative, please visit: http://www.boem.gov/State-Activities-Maryland/
To find out more about Maryland’s plan to address climate change, please visit: http://climatechange.maryland.gov/

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a joke. Nobody can be this stupid. It will not work. The salt contamination maintenance will be unbelievable in dollars lost.

Anonymous said...

7:45 tell all of that the the Nordic countries on the frigid North Sea who seem to be doing great with offshore wind!

Anonymous said...

I thought windmills were being removed in some remote places in Europe

Anonymous said...

8:20 needs to do a LOT more research!

LOL!

I'll be back...

Anonymous said...

Wow! I'm back so soon! Googled "Nordic Wind Power" and guess what" IT NO LONGER EXISTS!
Gosh darn, 8:20! And a few years in to the Maryland effort, the investors (us, by force) will jump ship and will the next "No longer exists" company.

You have to be as stupid as a Democrat to buy into this idiocy.

Anonymous said...

9:24. I believe 8:20 was referring to geography not a single company called Nordic Wind Power which as you correctly point out does not exist any more. Wind energy production IS however doing quite well and growing rapidly throughout Europe, including the Nordic country of Denmark, Asia and here in the US. Spend a bit more time on Google and you might learn something.

Anonymous said...

9:36, MANY in Europe have realized they cannot continue to subsidize this "green" energy farce any longer. These experimental wind farms are closing at a rapid rate. Europeans no longer have the funds to do this.

We will be sorry we went along with this debacle. More and more of our hard earned dollars down the toilet. Liberals chasing an empty dream and in reality it's a nightmare.

Anonymous said...

" Wind Generators Not Profitable

Harnessing wind energy to produce electricity doesn't pay, according to a recent study released by the Nebraska Power Association which monitored 18 commercially-made windmills across the state for nearly a year. The report concluded that under current regulatory and economic conditions, the best generator system studied would have to operate 107 years to pay back the $26,000 spent to buy and install it, even though most wind-generation systems have only a 20-year expected lifespan. Researchers found that most windmills provided an average of about 15% of the power used by their owners.
The association made the decision to study windmills because of a federal law which requires utilities to purchase excess power from customers. The study is used to advise customers interested in putting up windmills."

Googled "profitable wind power mills" and got a lot of companies that survey for them, install them, manufacture them, and plan for them. The municipalities who installed them years ago have old websites dating to the day they put them in to operation, like 2008, then NOTHING! NO UPDATES!

In other words, even easily maintainable land based windmills are not profitable in comparison to ANY other resource, let alone putting them out in the salt water!

But you all keep on believing in the dream. I prefer factual evidence. Bring me some.

924pm

Anonymous said...

"Anonymous said...
7:45 tell all of that the the Nordic countries on the frigid North Sea who seem to be doing great with offshore wind!

July 2, 2014 at 8:20 PM"

You are unequivocally without a doubt DEAD WRONG, 8:20. Do your research before misleading readers-okay? You are either intentionally lying suggesting a major character flaw, or are grossly uninformed, both of which are unbecoming.
FYI-Most-read again MOST-of the countries in that region are abandoning their green energy plans and that is a FACT. Demark who was a role model for the turbines has recently turned against them.

Anonymous said...

9:36-You really need to stop grasping at straws and lying. There in not 1 (ONE) that is doing well. Your out and out lie that it is "growing rapidly" is disturbing in that it is completely untrue and the opposite is the reality=they are being abandoned at a rapid rate in not only the region mentioned but all over Europe.
You really need to address your pathological lying.

Anonymous said...

thanks Norm and Jim for saddling us with another green elephant

Anonymous said...

8:20pm here... "Nordic" refers to geography. Come on guys...

Second, does wind power necessarily have to be profitable? Lord knows that a LOT of conventional power plants and sources are FAR from profitable!

Oh, and for those interested, here is the list. I did the research for you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_offshore_wind_farms_in_the_North_Sea

Anonymous said...

Every customer gets a jar of Vaseline... except The idiots who are promoting this VERY EXPENSIVE, unsustainable means to produce energy. Damn, and we did not even get a kiss.

Anonymous said...

you folks are stupid! it ain't about the wind or the farms or green energy or who's doing what. It's about who's gonna get rich and who's gonna pay! bet you fools can't figure that one out either!

Anonymous said...

The technology changes too fast for this to be practical.If this project could go without change or upgrade for 10 entire years it would be plausible.The cost of maintaining and upgrading would be scary.The likelihood that turbine manufacturing companies are saddled with tons of outdated inventory that they can't get rid of should concern us all.This will be their big opportunity.

Anonymous said...

I hope they build the stupid things because they will make for some good fishing. Be able to catch dolphin all around the structures.

Anonymous said...

7:43-Do not ever do our research for us ever again because you are quite useless at it. The info you provided is current up to Sept of 2010. Now here's the real story.
Denmark who built more turbines per person than anyone now has to import more energy than ever before.
Holland has slashed ALL renewable energy subsidies after failure after failure occurred.
Germany who built more turbines than anyone is now abandoning them and are building and rebuilding coal fired stations at a very rapid rate.
Tourism has been decimated in the Scottish Highlands due to the turbines.
Another thing, a quick look at the list and most of the projects I recognize as talking a big game in the beginning with plans to expand. Most have abandoned any plans to expand.

Anonymous said...

Ok President O'Malley, ooops, I mean Governor O'Malley, tell us why we must "combat climate change". The left knows there is nothing we can do about "climate change", it's just another political catchphrase thrown out there to separate people through opinion.

I'm supposed to stop driving my carbon emitting vehicles and live an austere existence while you jet around the world and drive in caravans wherever you wish to go and live in mansions spewing filth into the atmosphere. If you really believe it Marty live it. You are just another piece of political crap like your hero Al Gore, getting wealthy on a lie and living large.