Plaintiffs in Ocean City, Maryland, and Fenwick Island, Delaware, filed a suit against the Interior Department last week over a planned offshore wind energy project.
The Maryland Offshore Wind Project was approved by the feds in September and would be 10 nautical miles offshore from Ocean City. It would include as many as 114 wind turbine generators standing 938 feet tall, plus offshore substations and cables connecting the turbines to them.
In addition to the two neighboring cities, several local businesses joined the suit, including the parent companies of the boardwalk Thrasher’s French Fries and Jolly Roger at the Pier amusement park.
The plaintiffs argue that the wind turbines would obstruct views on their beaches, affect commercial and recreational fishing by impeding navigation, and harm wildlife, including the endangered right whale.
“With an economy based almost entirely on tourism, commercial fishing and recreational fishing, Ocean City cannot sustain a drastic change in its workforce and culture — changes that will occur because of the recently approved Maryland Offshore Wind Project,” Ocean City said in its lawsuit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
The neighboring Delaware town contended that the turbines, “which will destroy the pristine ocean view, degrade water quality, injure marine life and create safety issues, will deter seasonal residents and tourists from traveling to Fenwick Island.”
Simulated images produced by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which is subordinate to the Interior Department and approved the offshore project to be built by US Wind Inc., show the turbines visible from the Ocean City beach during the daytime.
The BOEM says the project will generate over 2 gigawatts of electricity for more than 718,000 homes on the Delmarva Peninsula.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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