Public Service Commission Grants Ocean City Petition Request
Ocean City, Maryland – (December 13, 2019): The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) issued an order today granting the Town of Ocean City’s petition request to review the new proposed turbine sizes for two wind energy projects approved in 2017 as “qualified offshore wind projects.” The Commission’s review will focus on the new proposed sizes of the wind turbines, which are now more than double the size proposed to the Commission two years ago. The Commission’s order determined that the new larger turbines constituted “material changes” to the original applications.
Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan issued the following statement today concerning the PSC’s action:
“We want to thank the Public Service Commission for granting our request for a public hearing on the increased size of Maryland’s off-shore wind projects. We have always had concerns regarding the visual impact of the wind turbines even at the original size approved by the PSC. However, when developers released plans to unilaterally double the size of these massive turbines without any public input or approvals it was clearly time for the Commission to step in. We want to thank the Public Service Commission for the opportunity to present our concerns and the concerns of our citizens, visitors and property owners regarding the impact of these giant structures on our town. As we have stated form the beginning, we support clean energy initiatives but not at the cost of destroying the pristine viewshed off of our beach forever. We only get one chance to get this right and this is our chance.” – Mayor Rick Meehan, Town of Ocean City
The Commission also ordered that a public hearing on the larger sized turbines be set for noon on Saturday, January 18, 2020 on the Eastern Shore at a location to be determined.
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