OCEAN CITY — State and federal scientists will soon undertake a study to determine the possible impacts a field of wind turbines could have on marine life in the area.
In early July, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced the auction of a vast tract of roughly 80,000 acres off the coast of Ocean City was set for mid-August. Maryland’s designated Wind Energy Area (WEA) covers roughly 94 square nautical miles with its western edge about 10 miles off the coast of Ocean City and extending about 30 miles offshore. The lease auction is one of the last significant regulatory milestones for the long-awaited and discussed project.
Before a single turbine is anchored to the ocean floor, however, state and federal officials want to carefully consider the potential impacts of the massive project on marine life that inhabit Maryland’s WEA. To that end, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science are preparing to conduct a new study they believe will help state and federal decision-makers better understand where whales, dolphins and porpoises migrate in the WEA off the coast of Ocean City and how they use the habitat.
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6 comments:
I won't hold my breath for an unbiased study because the study is being funded by the government who is pushing this junk at the detriment of our environment. Offshore energy makes even less economic sense then onshore. With onshore electricity rates at 1.5 times higher than conventional sources, offshore wind costs 5 times more. I cannot afford to pay $1000 for $200 worth of electricity. Thanks Jim Mathias for selling us to the wolves.
The sharks will grow larger from eating all the birds killed by the turbine blades.
Get out your checkbooks. This is gonna cost big time.
Has anyone asked Jim Mathias why he voted for this? Looks like my vacations will now be spent in Delaware. Bye Bye Ocean City.
O'Malley OWES Mathias and Conway for this one too!
In the meantime, the Obama administration has approved seismic guns off the East Coast which will kill off a hell of a lot of marine life. What's left of the the Atlantic right whales are going to go the extinct route of the Black Rhino. Thanks for telling us how much you care about the environment.
How will we ever be able to pay for this electricity?
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