“Respectfully, the future of the Town of Ocean City cannot be bought [by offshore wind interests] and we intend to continue to do what is necessary to protect the interests of our residents, property owners and future generations.” – Mayor Rick Meehan, Ocean City, Maryland
The $2 million bribe was turned down–flatly, by the mayor of Ocean City, Rick Meehan. This “opportunity” spread out over 20 years came with this request from US Wind: “local government officials… [refraining] from making any negative comments or objections.”
Here is the story reported in UtilityDive:
…“In December 2023, I received an email from Jeff Grybowski, Chief Executive Officer for US Wind, offering Ocean City the same opportunity that has been extended to the Delaware Beach Towns,” [Ocean City Mayor] Meehan said. “My response was, ‘Respectfully the future of the Town of Ocean City cannot be bought and we intend to continue to do what is necessary to protect the interests of our residents, property owners and future generations.’”
“Too many moving parts in a corrosive environment, requiring too much routine maintenance of large moving components. This is wildly unrealistic, fails the KISS Principle!” ( – Ed Thiel)
“[Stephen] Salter invented the ‘duck’ [system that converts into electricity some of the natural energy contained in waves] in 1974, wave energy has been just round the corner ever since. Tell me when and if it ever happens.” ( – Chris Wagstaffe)
A recent exchange on social media about the prospects of marine (aka tidal or wave) electricity brought some reality into energy magical thinking, the belief that what is technologically possible is a “green” solution to thermal power generation. Either now or about to be ….
An Optimistic Take
Russ Bates, founder of NXTGEN Clean Energy, excitedly announced: “Another step towards a sustainable future and another blow to #fossilfuels!”…
“It is shocking that legislators would contemplate advancing policy that would increase taxes, drive up prices for American families, harm workers and those on fixed incomes, and punish energy use. Yet this is precisely what a carbon tariff does.” (Free Market Letter, below)
Government intervention expands and expands from its own shortcomings. And in the service of “global climate change,” where deep-ecology alarmism prevails and economics is demoted, regulation is open-ended and increasingly strident.
Open international trade has been the gold standard for hundreds of years in theory and in practice. Adam Smith noted how the international division of labor produces the most goods and services for the greatest number, increasing the Wealth of Nations. His logic remains today.
Pricing carbon dioxide (CO2) is the weapon of the anti-industrial, anti-energy “Progressives.”…