'We Only Have One Chance': Ocean City, Md. Mayor Urges Residents To Share Thoughts On Offshore Wind Farm
OCEAN CITY, Md. (WJZ) -- Ocean City, Maryland, Mayor Rick Meehan is asking residents to weigh in on a plan to build an offshore wind farm off the town's coast.
Current plans call for the turbines, which would be between 600 and 800 feet tall, to be built as close as 13 miles from the beach; town officials want to see the towers moved at least 33 miles from shore to protect the natural view.
Two companies, US Wind and Skipjack Energy, are seeking to build the wind farm.
Ocean City officials are hoping to get the project moved out farther to sea.
In an email to residents on Thursday afternoon, Meehan said the region "only (has) one chance to do this, so we need to do it right."
"Making sure these turbines are out of the viewshed of Ocean City is not only a benefit to our residents and property owners, but also to the 8 million people who visit our beach each year," Meehan wrote. "Most importantly, it is our responsibility to protect the natural beauty of our beach so that our children, grandchildren and their grandchildren can enjoy the same pristine horizon that we enjoy every day in Ocean City."
The town's website said it supports "green and unseen" wind farms.
A public hearing is scheduled for Saturday at noon at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center.
The Maryland Public Service Commission is also accepting public comments both online and in writing. For more information, click here.
