Offshore Wind Bill Stalls in Annapolis; Advocates Pledge to Fight Again in 2012

CONTACT:
Jamie Nolan; jamie@chesapeakeclimate.org; 240-396-2022

ANNAPOLIS — “After months of productive debate and legislative progress, the Maryland General Assembly will fall short this year in its effort to pass the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2011. The bill would have created thousands of new jobs in the fight against climate change while helping to stabilize electricity rates and lower energy costs over time. But the biggest hurdle confronting the bill this year was simply tradition. The Maryland General Assembly rarely passes a landmark bill the first year it’s introduced. Therefore it was always a strong challenge for this new and transformative bill — sponsored by Governor Martin O’Malley — to become law this year. We, the major advocates of this bill, now pledge to continue our campaign in 2012 for passage.

We thank Governor O’Malley and his staff for their extraordinary leadership on this vital issue this year. We thank Senator Mac Middleton and Delegate Dereck Davis for their leadership in key committees. And we thank all the concerned citizens all across Maryland — doctors, union members, environmentalists, business leaders, local governments, and faith groups — who worked so hard to bring this issue to the center of public discussion in Annapolis. We will be back!”

Statement on behalf of:

– Chesapeake Climate Action Network
– United Steelworkers of Maryland
–  League of Women Voters Maryland
–  Environment Maryland
–  Sierra Club Maryland Chapter
–  National Wildlife Federation
–  Maryland League of Conservation Voters

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Pass the wind power bill

WAMU

Commentary by Mike Tidwell

As a boy, I remember sitting in my family’s Ford Pinto in a four-hour long gas line during the Arab oil embargo of 1973. My dad told me then, with complete confidence, that oil would be a bad memory when I grew up. Our cars would run on something, he said, but not on this black liquid from countries that don’t like us.

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Let's Fast-Track VA & MD Offshore Wind Energy

In Norfolk last week, the Obama administration announced a plan for rapid development of offshore wind energy, including high priority Wind Energy Areas off the coast of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. The Department of the Interior (DOI) said it could begin leasing these areas for wind energy projects as early as the end of this year. Opening these areas to wind energy development will be a great step in our transition to clean, renewable energy and should happen as soon as possible!

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), the agency within the DOI that oversees the development of energy resources on the Outer Continental Shelf, has opened a public comment period on the Wind Energy Areas, which lasts until Friday, March 11. Please show your support for wind energy off the coast of Virginia and Maryland by signing our petition. We’ll deliver it to BOEMRE by the end of the comment period.

Virginia Residents: Take action here

Maryland Residents: Take action here Continue reading

Community Forum in Williamsport, MD this Thursday!

This past Monday, I took a road trip to Williamsport, MD where CCAN and our coalition partners are hosting a community forum about the R. Paul Smith coal-fired power plant located just blocks away from the center of town. I checked out the location for the forum, the cozy and welcoming public library, and after meeting with our hosts, I decided to check out the plant itself.

I drove just a few blocks from the main road and immediately saw an ungainly structure looming above the town cemetery. With the sun setting, it was an ominous sight.

This plant just got a water pollution permit approved by the Maryland Department of the Environment that does little to address the heavy metals in coal waste; even though it sits directly on the canal that residents and tourists enjoy rollerblading, fishing, biking, and walking near. This is why we’re hosting the forum. We want to provide the residents of Williamsport with information about the plant and the potential impacts it has on the surrounding environment.

Whether you live in Williamsport, downwind, upstream, are just plain interested, we hope you can make it out! And never fear; we’ll have light refreshments. RSVP here!