From the AP news:
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and a team of environmentalists and labor activists are spending the week pushing for offshore wind.
The governor wants state utilities to enter long-term contracts to buy energy generated by offshore wind turbines which could be spinning off the coast of Maryland by 2016...Activists rallied in front of the State House Monday night and O'Malley has planned a news conference Wednesday as they attempt to shake loose the bill before the General Assembly finishes its work in three weeks.
And WAML news writes:
The state Senate finance committee is divided over Governor Martin O'Malley's offshore wind energy plan, with some saying wind turbines are the best option for Marylanders and others calling the act too big of a financial drain.
The governor's Offshore Wind Energy Act calls for the construction of about 120 wind turbines miles off the coast of the Eastern Shore. The state would set up a contract and figure out the cost for taxpayers that would be locked in for the next 20 or 25 years.
Subsidizing building costs for a 500 [MegaWatt] wind farm would add between about 92 cents and $3 per month to Marylanders' electric bills, the Maryland Public Service Commission told the committee last week. Senate Majority Leader Rob Garagiola calls the cost "minimal," especially when compared to health and environmental benefits.
"It's the equivalent of a homeowner replacing two light bulbs with those compact fluorescent light bulbs," Garagiola, who represents Montgomery County and serves on the finance committee..."Once the windmill is built, wind prices don't go up or down; it's free. And we will get the benefit of that energy once these windmills are constructed," he added.
Anyone else know of any more info on this bill, and any online orgs helping push it?
ADDITIONAL UPDATE: Thanks to people pointing to more info here, at the Governor's site and here is a Change.org petition to support the bill... Also the Chesapeake Climate Action Network is also a strong supporter of the bill, more on them here....