Wind Power

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- The Danish government is pushing ahead with one of Europe's most ambitious alternative-energy projects, a program that would make Denmark the first country to use wind power as a significant contributor to its national electricity grid.In a report in February, the Danish Environment Ministry set out a planning procedure for building additional windmills either in clustered parks or as individual free-standing units, bringing municipal governments into the decision-making process for the first time.

For too long, many environmentalists have been ambivalent about nuclear energy. It conjures fears: meltdowns, cancers, Chernobyl, Fukushima, overtones of nuclear bombs. Yet, we also know that nuclear power provides 70 percent of all the greenhouse gas-free electrical power in the United States (hydropower, in which dams block many great rivers like the Susquehanna to fish migration, provides much of the rest). Neither does nuclear energy produce the nitrogen oxides of fossil fuels that are a major Chesapeake pollutant, or the mercury from coal plants that contaminate so much of our seafood.

Thank you for publishing OpinionWorks' poll results on offshore wind in Maryland ("Public favors offshore wind power, poll says," Jan. 11). Count me among the majority of people who agree that $2 is a trivial price to pay for the many advantages that wind power provides, including relief from our dependence on fossil fuels and mitigation of the resulting global warming. I was further gratified to read that support was not reduced in areas within sight of the turbines. When compared to the severe health, environmental and economic costs of coal-fired power plants (especially to those unfortunate enough to live nearby)

Would you pay a little bit more on your monthly utility bill to help build a wind farm generating as much as 200 megawatts of electricity 12 miles or more off the coast of Maryland? That's really all Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed offshore wind bill comes down to - and yet for the past two years the General Assembly has said no. But this year, the proposal seems to have the wind at its back, having passed the House of Delegates today and facing friendlier prospects in the Senate than in years past - thanks in no small part to Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller's willingness to reshuffle membership in the Finance Committee to bypass an entrenched opponent.

In his recent opinion piece, Jon Boone has once again let his bias against wind power stand in the way of sanity ("The fantasy of wind power for Maryland," March 8). Just as with his numerous lawsuits against widely-supported, economically important projects for Western Maryland, he has once again cast his wide "just say no" net to include offshore wind as well. Wind turbines will benefit Maryland, whether on land in Garrett County or in the water off Ocean City. They can provide much-needed tax revenue for communities, significant income to landowners and valuable clean energy to consumers that demand it -- all with little environmental impact.

Count me among the minority. I don't favor adding $2 to our utility bills to pay for wind mills ("Public favors offshore wind power, poll says," Jan. 11). While I'm in favor of wind power and yes, $2 is not that much, let's look at what is really happening here. Electricity generated by any source is not delivered directly to the consumer. It is sold to brokers on the open market who then resell it to the highest bidder. So what that $2 will actually do is make the electricity cheaper to the brokers while people on fixed incomes or no income will be subsidizing rich energy brokers.

Timothy Wheeler's article ("Study boosts offshore windmills," Feb. 9) presents an exciting prospect for Maryland. Offshore wind energy is just the sort of project that people can get behind, regardless of political leanings. Maryland has the opportunity to become a national leader in clean energy and fighting climate change while creating green jobs. There may be some drawbacks to this plan, but it is still far more appealing than increasing consumption of coal, oil or nuclear power.

A study in Harford County could tell farmers if there's enough sustained wind strength to economically generate electricity for their operations. For the past year, a farm in Black Horse, on the northwestern side of the county, has been home to a temporary measuring station, an anemometer perched on a 100-meter tower that captures wind speed and directional data that is in turn stored on a computer. The measuring equipment is owned by the nonprofit Harford County Agricultural Marketing Cooperative, and the data is being collected and analyzed by the Maryland Environmental Service under contract with the cooperative.

Many recent op-eds in The Sun have discussed Gov.Martin O'Malley's wind bill. To those concerned about the cost of wind energy, I would observe that doing nothing might prove even more expensive in the long run. While installing the wind turbines may raise residential electricity rates by as much as $1.50 a month, it will benefit Maryland and the world by using more renewable energy. Wind energy is beneficial to Maryland in many ways: it is renewable, it pollutes less, it is not expensive, it provides a lot of energy, it will reduce U.S. dependence on imported fuels and it will create local jobs.

It is too bad that Timothy Wheeler failed to mention in Thursday's article "Offshore wind farm wins OK" (April 29) the enormous costs of offshore wind, requiring huge tax subsidies, or the fact that wind turbines will do very little to offset carbon emissions due to wind's intermittency, or that birds are not the only species that will be impacted. Ajax Eastman, Baltimore

Legislation to subsidize an offshore wind energy project off Ocean City moved ahead Friday, as the House Economic Matters Committee approved the measure, a priority of Gov. Martin O'Malley and many environmental activists. The committee voted 14-7 to send HB226 to the House floor with two minor amendments and little debate. While expected to sail through the House, a bigger test awaits it in the Senate. The governor's bill would require the state's electricity providers to purchase a certain amount of power from an offshore wind project.

Your recent commentary on climate change continues the politically correct approach to the problem of global warming and its solutions without approaching the reality of what has been accomplished and what the underlying issues are ("Forecast calls for pain," Feb. 6). Carbon dioxide production cannot be measured; it can be calculated by analyzing components in effluent streams from boilers and actual feed streams of fuel, which vary in composition, boiler efficiency, excess air and an infinite number of other variables.

While Maryland lawmakers debate whether to subsidize a large wind energy project in the Atlantic Ocean off Ocean City , an Annapolis company is moving ahead with plans for the state's third land-based wind "farm. " Synergics Wind Energy LLC, which built Maryland's second wind project along a mountain ridge near the West Virginia border, is seeking state and local permits to erect 24 turbines on similar terrain just west of Frostburg in Garrett County. But the proposal is renewing concerns raised by some western Maryland resident about the state's first two wind projects, in particular the towering windmills' proximity to homes and their potential to kill birds and bats, including one listed as endangered in Maryland.

Recent letters commenting on wind power don't appreciate the significant benefits offshore wind power will provide - not just for Maryland but all of America. Several land-based wind energy projects are already operating in Maryland, and these projects have helped to create hundreds of jobs. In fact, the success of the land-based wind industry in the U.S., which has created over 75,000 jobs and contributed to the placement of over 400 manufacturing facilities across 43 states, demonstrates the economic development potential for offshore wind.

It is with great interest that I read The Sun's article, "O'Malley to push for wind yet again," (Jan. 13) but I don't understand the opposition. Some opponents say wind farms would "look bad. " Funny, how windmills in Holland are considered beautiful. More importantly, others like state Sen. E.J. Pipkin claim offshore wind is expensive and may cost jobs. Senator Pipkin's solution to drill more for natural gas reserves in western Maryland is incredibly foolish and short-sighted. Our underground energy sources are finite.

When is Gov. Martin O'Malley going to be satisfied? He has spent all of Maryland's taxpayer dollars and then some since being elected, and now he wants to spend even more on wind power from the ocean, despite having been elected in part on a campaign promise to reduce spending ("O'Malley readies new offshore wind bid," Jan. 12) Instead, he has increased taxes and fees and increased spending. Doesn't the governor read the news stories about the billions of tax dollars being wasted on green companies that have gone bankrupt?

One can only imagine how bad an idea ("The problem with wind," May 6) was Governor Martin O'Malley's signature piece of legislation promoting off-shore wind turbines when he couldn't get it past a one-party (his own) legislature, in a one-party (again, his own) state filled with left-leaning, liberal loonies. Dave Reich, Perry Hall

A change in the membership of a key Maryland Senate committee could hand Gov. Martin O'Malley a long-sought victory on a measure to foster development of a wind power industry off Ocean City. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller has replaced Sen. C. Anthony Muse on the Finance Committee with Sen. Victor R. Ramirez, Miller's office confirmed Thursday. The switch, which replaces one Prince George's County Democrat with another, was first reported on the Washington Post's web site.

Many recent op-eds in The Sun have discussed Gov.Martin O'Malley's wind bill. To those concerned about the cost of wind energy, I would observe that doing nothing might prove even more expensive in the long run. While installing the wind turbines may raise residential electricity rates by as much as $1.50 a month, it will benefit Maryland and the world by using more renewable energy. Wind energy is beneficial to Maryland in many ways: it is renewable, it pollutes less, it is not expensive, it provides a lot of energy, it will reduce U.S. dependence on imported fuels and it will create local jobs.