As the Maryland legislative session closed for the year, a bill that could have substantially blocked a potential growth opportunity for renewable wind energy in the State did not make it to the desk of Governor Hogan. Had Senate Bill 899 (S.B. 899) made it through the Assembly and been signed into law it may have substantially frozen Eastern Shore offshore wind development because the Bill required that such projects “will not impact the physical area or any part of the electromagnetic spectrum in the line of sight of (1) the Chesapeake and Atlantic Test Ranges,” which includes warning area W-386.
W-386, as defined with vertical and lateral parameters by the Federal Aviation Administration, extends along nearly all, if not the entire, Maryland coastal shore and encompasses the North and South Lease Areas that comprised the August 19, 2014 lease sale from the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to U.S. Wind, Inc. The intent of the lease sale was to open offshore space to private developers for wind farms. As noted in S.B. 899, there was at least one developer preparing to move forward with development in the authorized Lease Areas. This developer had begun negotiations with the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Department of Defense, and numerous other federal, state, and local agencies in accordance with applicable federal statutes. This project and others like it have the potential to make substantial contributions toward the Maryland Renewable Portfolio Standards (“RPS”).
Perhaps in part because of the uncertainty generated by S.B. 899, at least one major developer recently walked away from a wind project in Somerset County. The project had the potential to bring 150+ megawatts of clean energy to the region, offset carbon emissions equivalent to over 20,000 vehicles annually, contribute $2-3 million a year to the local tax base, and generate hundreds of new jobs. This and similar projects have been touted by their proponents as the base for a $1B+ onshore and offshore wind energy industry for Maryland.
While this is a considerable loss, and there could be other lost clean energy and economic growth opportunities like it, Maryland critics and opponents of the wind farm plans have also raised serious concerns. Supporters of S.B. 899 focus primarily on limiting wind farm development in W-386 and other specific spaces near Maryland because it includes training air space for the Patuxent River Naval Air Station (“Pax River”). Supporters also point to the potential devastating impact on the thousands of jobs (apparently over 20,0000 employees) that the region could lose if the wind turbines negatively impacted the radar capabilities at Pax River and resulted in the Navy and Congress deciding to relocate the training operations. Related to S.B. 899 and other wind energy legislation associated with the Eastern Shore and land-based projects in the State, some local citizens also raised concerns about the noise created by the turbines, the impact on the geese that have a migratory route through the area, and the visual impacts of the super structures dotting the shoreline or pristine farm country.
While citizens, businesses, and legislators on both sides of this legislation voice valid concerns about how to structure parameters in which developers can build wind turbine farms in Maryland, and particularly in large portions of the Eastern Shore in and around Pax River, the end result for now is uncertainty, which may not be what many on either side actually desire.
