The state began its pursuit of offshore wind generation Tuesday, a move that could lead to building 400-foot-tall turbines off Ocean City.
The Maryland Energy Administration asked wind developers to express their interest in building industrial-size windmills a dozen or more miles off the state's 31-mile coastline. At the same time, the energy agency said it is launching a study to gauge the economic viability and environmental impact of such a project.
"We know Maryland has great wind resources off our shore," said Malcolm Woolf, state energy administrator. "We've got to figure out how best to tap into them."
Maryland officials, eager to meet goals for more renewable energy sources, have approved two wind farms in the western part of the state. But Maryland is following other Mid-Atlantic states in pursuing offshore wind power.
Delaware recently settled on Bluewater Wind, a subsidiary of a national energy firm, to build a 230-megawatt string of turbines 13 miles off Rehoboth Beach. New Jersey has tapped Bluewater and two other companies to develop wind projects off its coast.
Woolf said the new study will give developers technical information on wind speeds and ocean depths, so they can decide where or whether to bid for building offshore turbines. The study, which is expected to be completed early next year, also will outline areas where turbines might not be appropriate, such as shipping lanes or sensitive marine habitats.
State officials, meanwhile, plan to huddle with local leaders to test community sentiment in Maryland's beach resort to having turbines visible on the eastern horizon - though wind developers say their generators would appear no larger than a toothpick at those distances.
"We don't want this to be tied up in community battles for years," Woolf said, alluding to the long-running dispute in Massachusetts over building wind turbines off Cape Cod.
The U.S. Department of Energy has estimated that Maryland has "outstanding" wind for power generation offshore, with steady breezes of about 18 mph to 20 mph about 160 feet above the waves - roughly the height at which the turbine blades would spin. But state officials want to test for themselves and to give wind developers more information for planning.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources also has teamed up with the Nature Conservancy to analyze how birds, bats, fish and other marine animals might be affected by placing turbines on the ocean bottom.
