Wind Power News: Maryland
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Easements for underground power line total $14.5 million
FROSTBURG — A wind farm developer seeking to run an underground power line through portions of Allegany County that will carry power generated by a wind farm in Somerset County, Pa., has entered into 18 easement agreements with local landowners, Allegany County and the city of Frostburg. The agreements total $14.5 million, Circuit Court Clerk Dawne Lindsey said Monday. The $10 million project by Big Savage LLC, a subsidiary of EverPower Wind Holdings, has started with the removal of trees. . . .
Budget, major initiatives being debated as legislative session ends
Legislation on the budget, a teacher pension shift, wind farming and transportation infrastructure funding all were in limbo Friday, as the General Assembly prepared to wrap up for 2012. With the legislative session set to end Monday, legislators plan to put in overtime on Saturday as they attempt to tackle these issues — the largest being the state’s budget. “You know we don’t have a budget folks,” said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. to the Senate on Thursday. . . .
Garrett residents ask for wind ordinances, setbacks
FROSTBURG — A petition signed by 39 residents asks Garrett County commissioners to impose realistic setbacks or ordinances that would protect families and homes from a proposed wind farm on Four Mile Ridge and part of Big Savage Mountain. The petition will be presented to the commissioners at a land management ordinance work session on Tuesday. “In addition to aesthetic and environmental impacts, industrial-scale wind turbines built near people’s homes and properties have the potential to increase health and safety . . .
Wind bill potentially more costly than reported
Have any of your reporters or editorial writers actually read the offshore wind bill (“A better wind bill,” April 2)? I don’t think so, or perhaps they simply don’t understand it. Every article or opinion piece I’ve read, whether in support or opposed, contains the same misrepresentation over and over again. The bill does not guarantee that a residential ratepayer will face a surcharge of only $1.50 per month after the wind farm is built and energy is flowing through . . .
Tensions revealed as Maryland session marches toward close
An exchange lasting less than nine minutes in the Maryland State House on Wednesday encapsulated almost every economic and partisan tension driving Maryland’s 90-day legislative session to a frantic end. It could have been a debate about raising hundreds of millions of dollars in income taxes; creating a subsidy for a $1 billion offshore wind farm; doubling residents’ water-bill fees; or hiking taxes on gasoline. All of those major plans and more remain in play before the General Assembly’s scheduled . . .
McDermott calls offshore wind a ‘feel-good bill’
McDermott said he understands the need to diversify the state’s renewable energy portfolio, but given the economic factors involved, he said O’Malley’s bill is more symbolic than practical.
“This will look good on the governor’s green card to say he was able to get offshore wind passed in Maryland, but the numbers won’t work and it won’t happen,” he said. “It’s a feel-good bill that doesn’t do anything from a practical standpoint.”
Maryland House passes governor’s wind energy plan
The Maryland House of Delegates has approved Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposal to add fees to electric users’ bills to help draw developers to build a large wind farm off Ocean City. The bill passed 88-47 on Friday morning. During floor debate Thursday, the House adopted an amendment from House Minority Whip Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio (R-Dist. 37B) of Newcomb to exempt ratepayers who farm their land from paying the extra fee on the first 3,000 kilowatt hours of electricity they use in . . .
Maryland House approves bill to subsidize offshore wind development
A bill to subsidize development of what could be the nation’s first Atlantic offshore wind farm — one of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s signature initiatives — won approval Friday in the Maryland House of Delegates. The bill, which passed overwhelmingly after an hour-long debate, now heads to the Senate. The plan would add a fee to every Marylander’s monthly electric bill for 20 years and thousands of dollars to the bills of the state’s largest businesses to construct a multibillion-dollar offshore . . .
Lawmakers poised to give officials wind farm regulatory power
OAKLAND — The Maryland House of Delegates Economic Matters Committee has advanced a bill that would give the Garrett County commissioners the authority to enact ordinances relating to setbacks and the decommissioning of wind turbines, according to a news release. “This is a very large step towards providing some safeguards for the citizens of Garrett County,” Delegate Wendell Beitzel said. The companion measure to H.B. 747, sponsored by Sen. George Edwards, has been unanimously approved by the Senate. The two . . .
Turbulence remains for wind power bill in Maryland; Higher utility bills a bipartisan concern
ANNAPOLIS — The House is expected to vote Friday on a bill that would pave the way for offshore-wind energy. Lawmakers began debate Thursday on the proposal, which would set the regulatory framework for a system in which wind-energy companies would set up turbines off the coast of Ocean City and sell renewable-energy credits to Maryland energy providers seeking to boost their renewable-energy portfolios to keep in line with state standards. Gov. Martin O’Malley is sponsoring the bill as one . . .
