“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.’” …
The story continued:
Meehan said he found the idea “unconscionable.” ….
That leaves US Wind as the only company currently developing a wind project offshore near Ocean City, and the town’s only opponent in its “battle of the proposed construction of wind turbines off our coast,” according to Ocean City’s official website. “As of January 2024, The Town of Ocean City does not support any turbines built off our coast,” a release from the town said. “As of January 2024, US Wind is the only company with proposed plans to build turbines off the coast of Ocean City.”
Ever the crony, US Wind tried to paint a happy face on the situation.
Nancy Sopko, US Wind’s senior director of external affairs, said in an email that while Ocean City chose not to discuss a community benefit agreement, the company wants to continue to work with the city as “good neighbors.” … “As a member of this community, we believe it’s important to do what we can to help it thrive,” Sopko said. However, she added, “Ocean City’s position on community benefits has no impact on our project plans.”
Final Comment
Nancy Sopko is quoted at the end of the story: “We’re very confident that we will build Maryland’s first offshore wind farm and deliver clean energy to the people of Delmarva for years to come.”
Nope. Real environmentalists are standing up, knowing also that the electricity rate increases from offshore wind will be substantial, even after U.S. taxpayers get soaked via the U.S. Department of Energy grants and the Production Tax Credit.
Somehow, introducing higher cost electricity from offshore wind into the Maryland grid does not look like a path to lower electricity bills, especially when the cost of the storage required is not included in the costs.