(MD) Audubon Maryland-DC supports offshore wind during contentious hearing in Ocean City

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Audubon’s Dave Curson (center) is joined by Steven Hershkowitz with Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Dannielle Lipinski with the MD League of Conservation Voters at the MD Public Service Commission offshore wind hearing in Ocean City on Jan. 18.

Audubon provides testimony at MD Public Services Commission hearing on Offshore Wind

Some 500 people packed the Ocean City convention center last Saturday at a hearing called by Maryland’s Public Service Commission to address local opposition to two offshore wind energy projects planned off the coast of Ocean City and nearby off the Delaware coast.

Audubon Maryland-DC was there to make a case for the importance of these clean energy projects in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, which are driving climate change. Audubon Maryland-DC’s Dr. David Curson cited Audubon’s recent climate report “Survival by Degrees”, which found that two-thirds of America’s birds are threatened with extinction from climate change, but 76 percent of these birds could be spared if we can limit global temperature increases to 2.7F. Although wind turbines can cause impacts to seabirds through strikes and displacement, a warming climate is a far greater threat to birds in general.

Audubon’s position on wind energy is that we support clean energy that is sited and operated properly to avoid, minimize and mitigate effectively for the impacts on birds, other wildlife and places they need now and in the future.

To accommodate concerns voiced about impacts to the viewshed by the Town of Ocean City, project owner US Wind has redesigned the project to move the turbines from 12 miles to 19 miles offshore, reduced the number of turbines from 62 to 32, and increased turbine size from 6MW to 12MW.

The Public Service Commission will hear comments on the new configuration through Jan. 31.

Prior to the hearing, Audubon submitted this Letter to the Editor that appeared in The Baltimore Sun on January 15.

Audubon Maryland-DC
2901 East Baltimore Street, Box 2, Baltimore, MD 21224 USA
(410) 558-2473 md.audubon.org

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