The Republican has it right about wind energy skulduggery in Annapolis. There are proposals in the General Assembly that would exempt powerfully connected wind developers from rational regulatory review processes that aim to protect the environment and provide those most affected by massive land-use development with an informed opportunity to engage it.
The two wind projects now targeting Garrett County would place nearly 70 42-story turbines along 15 miles atop the state’s highest ridge, clear cutting and dynamiting hundreds of acres–all to produce around 40 MW of sporadic, variable energy to a grid system with an installed capacity of 165,000 MW. The projects would devalue property and create significant nuisances throughout the area, while sabotaging the county’s natural heritage plan. Meanwhile, the projects’ developers, one of which is now Constellation Energy, would reap millions in tax avoidance schemes.
If passed, these proposals would permit wind developers to move with stealth across the state, including the windy bay region, and many residents would wake up to discover too late that their neighborhood had been converted to wholesale industrial development.
Jon Boone
Oakland
15 March 2007
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/03/15/wind-energy-skulduggery/