A new website aims to fight against wind farms off the Maryland coast.
SaveOurBeachview.com has rolled out a one-page website that makes numerous arguments against two offshore wind projects off the coast at Ocean City. It also makes reference to a state group studying a possible wind farm off Rehoboth Beach.
In making its case against the projects, both of which have support from Maryland state officials, SaveOurBeach.com cites esthetic concerns of residents who believe the wind generators would detract from ocean views.
Also cited was a poll in North Carolina indicating that visitors and renters might shun an area with wind power. The site further claims that the massive blades of the generators would harm bird life and do not provide an economical source of power
The two Maryland windfarms, one of which might be visible from Fenwick Island, DE, have drawn criticism the mayor of Ocean City as well as residents.
In Delaware, an effort to build a wind farm off the coast in Rehoboth was abandoned as the state and nation climbed out of a deep recession. However, state officials have convened a group that is studying the issue.
Donations to SaveOurBeachview are being taken through the Newark-based Caesar Rodney Institute, a public policy group that has been critical of wind generation off the coast and accompanying subsidies. The cost of generation, according to the SaveOurBeachview, far exceeds other sources such as natural gas.
Backers of the form of generation say the clean energy will reduce dependence on fossil fuels and claim that worries about costs of wind generation are inaccurate.
Wind energy has a powerful advocate in the form of the University of Delaware, the site of research activity on wind power. UD has a wind turbine at its Lewes campus.
Wind power has become a major source of electricity in Europe, although there have been worries about the economics of the power source. At times, wind power produces electric power in excess of demand.
Ties between the Caesar Rodney Institute, which typically focuses on Delaware, and the website could not be immediately determined. The institute did not respond to a request for comment.
Over the years, the institute has advocated for more electric power within the state of Delaware, at one point advocating for a nuclear power plant. It also made the case for a natural gas power plant.
The institute has also taken on Bloom Energy, which assembles fuel cells in Delaware and engineered a deal that feeds fuel cells into the grid, with the added costs borne by Delmarva Power customers.
Delaware is under a mandate to eventually get a quarter of its power from renewable sources by 2025.
