USA: O’Malley Gathering Support for Offshore Wind Bill

In his attempt to reintroduce the energy bill, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, last week asked a higher authority, i.e. the U.S. President Obama, for support, MD Coast Dispatch reports.

The legislation aimed to spur wind power development offshore Maryland failed twice to come before the Senate.

Governor O’Malley said that he will introduce a similar legislation as he attempts to gather support.

In a letter to President Obama last week O’Malley wrote:

“As an example of how smart policy can incent economic development and reduce our carbon footprint, Maryland has chosen to aggressively develop our vast offshore wind resources. My administration has introduced legislation to make offshore wind power a reality off Maryland’s coast.”

“This has the potential to foster a $10 billion industry in our state, providing a significant benefit to the region’s economy. And offshore wind will confront climate change head-on, generating up to 1 GW of renewable electricity from a designated lease area off Maryland’s coast, enough to power nearly 400,000 homes.”

[mappress]

Offshore WIND staff, December 11, 2012