Supporters from across the state join Governor O’Malley and General Assembly leaders for Maryland Offshore Wind bill Signing.

With his signature, Governor O’Malley initiated the process outlined in the bill that will result in the construction of turbines off the coast of Ocean City. The Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013 creates a mechanism to incentivize the development of a major 200 megawatt offshore wind facility and establish a regulatory framework that will allow additional projects to interconnect in Maryland.

The law provides a “strike zone” of ratepayer protections only allowing the Public Service Commission (PSC) to approve a proposed offshore wind farm if it projects that the additional ratepayer impact is below $1.50 per household or 1.5 percent for non-residential customers.Developers must demonstrate that any project proposed will result in a net economic benefit to the state by creating jobs, economic development and protecting public health.  The 2013 legislation also contains a $10 million Offshore Wind Business Development Fund targeted to small and minority businesses to assist them in preparing to participate in this new industry.

Working with the U.S. Department of Interior, Maryland agencies have helped designate a Maryland “Wind Energy Area” 10 nautical miles east of Ocean City that is expected to be leased to developers later this year.

Governor O’Malley and all of Maryland’s leaders deserve great praise and appreciation for stepping up and creating a path forward for offshore wind development in our state. This is precisely the kind of leadership needed at this moment in time to jumpstart a robust offshore wind industry in America. This accomplishment not only means healthier air, cleaner energy, and more jobs for Maryland, but also signals the growing momentum for offshore wind energy along the entire Atlantic Coast.  Here are a few highlights:

• Massachusetts: In New Bedford, MA, major investments are being made to expand the South Terminal port facility in order to support the construction and operation of Cape Wind and future offshore wind projects.  Cape Wind is expected to commence construction this year, and the Department of the Interior (DOI) is expected to issue additional leases off of New England via auction later this year.
• Rhode Island: A 30 MW demonstration project is moving forward in state waters off Block Island, with plans to also commence construction this year. DOI is on track to auction leases for additional offshore wind project sites later this year.
• New Jersey: In anticipation of major offshore wind development, the firm Weeks Marine has begun construction of a multi-million-dollar vessel designed specifically to install offshore wind turbines. 
• Virginia: Dominion has received Department of Energy funding for an offshore wind demonstration project, and is one of eight entities that has expressed interest in securing a lease for an offshore wind project in the federally designated Wind Energy Area off of Virginia. DOI is expected hold a lease auction for this site before the end of the year. 
• Mid-Atlantic Transmission: The DOI also cleared the way for the company Atlantic Wind Connection – with investment support from Google, Inc. — to receive right-of-way approval for an ocean-based transmission line, pending additional review.
• Federal Tax Incentives: The Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is critical for offshore wind development and provides a strong market signal to energy investors. Congress is currently considering a proposal to extend the current tax credit, which is set to expire at the end of 2013. 
• Federal Investments: In early December, the U.S. Department of Energy announced seven offshore wind awards for projects in Maine, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Virginia. As part of the Energy Department’s broader efforts to launch an offshore wind industry in the United States, these engineering, design and deployment projects will support innovative offshore installations in state and federal waters for commercial operation by 2017.

The National Wildlife Federation is working with a broad coalition of partners to build momentum and support for the rapid, responsible development of our offshore wind energy resources. Building clean energy is critical to protect wildlife from the dangers of climate change, but we must also be sure that strong conservation principles guide our offshore wind development activities. In a first of its kind collaboration, NWF and a coalition of leading environmental organizations and offshore wind developers have reached an agreement on needed measures to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales during pre-development activities. This collaborative agreement between key ocean stakeholders helps expedite offshore wind development while ensuring protection of the Atlantic’s precious ecosystem.

To learn more about progress on Atlantic Offshore Wind development and its significant potential to power our homes and businesses with clean, renewable energy, please view our recent report The Turning Point for Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy: Time for Action to Create Jobs, Reduce Pollution, Protect Wildlife & Secure America’s Energy Future

The Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act establishes a market-driven process to incentivize the construction of ocean-based wind turbines 10 miles or more off the coast of Ocean City. By investing in appropriately-sited offshore wind, Maryland is seizing the opportunity to make our electricity supply cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable.  Advancement of the Offshore Wind Energy Act ensures protection of the state’s critical natural resources while helping Maryland meet its energy needs.

For nearly 3 years, the National Wildlife Federation has partnered with local conservation, faith, and civic organizations through the Maryland Climate Coalition striving to build momentum and support for the rapid, responsible development of our offshore wind energy resources.  This effort was made possible through individuals across the state who collected more than 10,000 petition signatures, made hundreds of phone calls, sent handwritten letters, and attended town hall meetings and rallies. We join our Maryland partners – and offshore wind advocates along the coast – in celebrating this Win for Offshore Wind.

The proposal championed by Gov. Martin O’Malley will be an economic powerhouse for Maryland, while helping the state achieve its renewable energy goals, reduce emissions and improve air and water quality.

Broad Support for Offshore Wind in Maryland

Governor O’Malley introduces Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013.

A December 2012 poll commissioned by the Maryland Offshore Wind Coalition and conducted by OpinionWorks demonstrated that a growing number of Maryland voters and a strong majority—72 percent—support investing in the development of offshore wind power.  These results represent an 8-percent increase since similar polling was conducted in December 2011.

It is clear that Marylanders want to transition to renewable sources of energy.  The polls also found that 80 percent of those surveyed would “prefer to invest in clean wind power, rather than build another power plant that burns fossil fuels” and contributes to global warming pollution.  Maryland imports 30 percent of our energy from neighboring states, primarily coal from Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Offshore wind can help Maryland meet its energy needs, through home-grown sources, without creating more pollution.

Clean Energy Critical for Chesapeake Bay Wildlife

Transitioning to clean energy sources, such as Atlantic offshore wind is one of the essential ways to protect wildlife for our children’s future.  Sea level rise caused by global warming pollution is the single biggest threat to wildlife and habitats like the Chesapeake Bay.  With its expansive coastline, low-lying topography, and growing coastal population, the Chesapeake Bay region is among the places in the nation most vulnerable to sea level rise.

The state of Maryland is currently losing approximately 580 acres every year to shore erosion, placing natural treasures like Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and Tangier Sound and the wildlife species that depend on them at risk. Last summer, research from the U.S. Geological Survey found that oceans are rising three to four times faster between portions of North Carolina and Massachusetts than in other parts of the globe, partially because of land subsidence.

National Wildlife Federation is working with a broad coalition of partners all along the Atlantic coast to build momentum and support for the rapid, responsible development of our offshore wind energy resources.

Offshore wind farm in Copenhagen (Photo: PEBondestad – Flickr)

Ocean biodiversity is at risk from ocean acidification, rising water temperatures and sea-level rise caused by carbon pollution and climate change. The offshore wind power generation needed to reduce the carbon pollution threatening the ocean and beyond is finally upon us.

With the long-awaited arrival of this massive source of clean energy comes the obligation to do it correctly for wildlife. That’s why we’re thrilled today to have reached a landmark agreement with major offshore wind industry leaders and marine conservation organizations to protect the critically-endangered North Atlantic right whale—helping to ensure wind power can both stem the impacts of climate change and minimize its own impacts on marine wildlife.

Right Whales in Jeopardy

Scientists estimate that less than 500 North Atlantic right whales are currently roaming our Atlantic shorelines.

Right whale mother and calf (Photo: NOAA NMFS)

Right whales are sensitive to underwater noises, and there is concern that the early survey activities of offshore wind developers could disturb migrating whales and divert them off their typical course into areas where they may be more vulnerable to predation from sharks and orcas or collision with ocean vessels. With so few individuals left, scientists have suggested that the loss of even one or two female right whales poses a threat to the population as a whole.

Win-win for Whales & Offshore Wind Energy

We need rapid, responsible wind energy development in the Atlantic that avoids these types of unacceptable impacts. The exciting news is that the leaders in the U.S. offshore wind industry agree.

With colleagues at the Conservation Law Foundation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, New England Aquarium, and companies like Deepwater Wind, I spent the last few months navigating both the science on the right whale and the needs of a new industry. The agreement we reached in this first-of-its-kind collaboration balances the needs of industry, the conservation community and the right whale.

The agreement provides additional protections for the North Atlantic right whale, primarily by reducing or avoiding sound impacts from exploratory activities that developers use to determine where to build wind farms, such as the construction of temporary towers that measure weather conditions and underwater surveys that assess the geology just beneath the ocean floor.

The developers implementing these voluntary measures will have the greatest certainty of avoiding unacceptable impacts, and that in turn will remove barriers to the type of efficient, responsible permitting and development process NWF and ocean advocates can support.

Looking Forward

Our sights now turn to New England, an important location for right whale and wind energy, where similar measures could be developed. This is an ongoing venture, so we’ll strive to build support for these measures from more stakeholder and industry voices, and see them ultimately implemented.

I’m proud to work for an organization that seeks innovative collaboration as a tool to achieve conservation victories, and I’m hopeful that today’s agreement is the just the crest of the wave to bring responsible offshore wind power ashore—pun intended.

Help protect wildlife today by supporting offshore wind projects—take action now!

New Report: A Turning Point for Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy

September 13 – America can create hundreds of thousands of jobs while powering our homes and businesses with local, clean energy, but only if our elected officials and regulators take the right steps now, according to a new report released today by the National Wildlife Federation, Environment America, and 45 partner organizations along the Atlantic Coast. The Turning Point for Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy: Time for Action to Create Jobs, Reduce Pollution, Protect Wildlife & Secure America’s Energy Future details the economic and environmental benefits of offshore wind energy, the progress made to-date, potential obstacles to that progress, and a prosperous path forward.

“America’s Atlantic coast has some of the best offshore wind energy resources in the world, the technology to harvest it is ready right now, and we have workers ready to do the job,” said Catherine Bowes, the National Wildlife Federation’s senior manager for new energy solutions and lead author of the report. “We need to take advantage of this golden opportunity to make our electricity supply cleaner, more wildlife-friendly, and more secure.”

Hurricane Isaac Batters Louisiana Marshes, Uncovers Oil

September 13 – When Hurricane Isaac struck Louisiana on the seven-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, its winds and tidal surge caused four deaths and at least $1.5 billion in insured damages. For many residents around the Mississippi River Delta, Isaac brought back memories of two recent disasters to hit the coast—Katrina and the 2010 Gulf oil disaster.  Before the storm even hit land, residents in some coastal communities noticed a rise in the number of tar balls washing ashore. Officials later discovered moderate amounts of tar balls and weathered oil in coastal Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Experts say scenes like this could be normal for decades to come and that Louisiana’s coast will require constant monitoring and a long-term plan for restoration. Despite advertising campaigns to the contrary, the region is still reeling from the Gulf oil disaster more than two years after the blow out of BP’s Macondo well.

And here are highlights from NWF in the News:

• Associated Press (SC): Fracking, economy slow developing SC offshore wind
• Associated Press (ME): Maine offshore wind topic of new report
• Providence Business News: Report: R.I. lays groundwork for wind energy
• New Hampshire Business Review: Is there potential in N.H. offshore wind generation?
• Public News Service (ME): Report: Time to Reel in the Benefits of Offshore Wind
• Radio Iowa: National Wildlife Federation scientist says drought is clear sign of global warming
• Great Falls Tribune: Wyoming tribes seek Yellowstone bison from Montana
• WKSU: U.S. and Canadian government agencies make plans to restore the Great Lakes

For more, visit www.nwf.org/News

NWF Applauds New Solar Energy Plan

July 24 – The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management released the final solar programmatic environmental impact statement, which outlines the future of utility-scale solar energy development on public lands and makes responsible solar energy projects part of our national energy policy.

The National Wildlife Federation applauds the BLM and partner agencies who oversaw a four-year development process driven by significant stakeholder input. The landscape-level management approach of the final solar energy program is vastly improved from earlier drafts, with sportsmen playing a particularly key role in identifying and encouraging needed changes in the plan. A key component of the solar energy program is the establishment of an initial set of 17 “solar energy zones” encompassing 285,000 acres covering six Western states.

217 Atlantic Coast Environmental Groups and Other Stakeholders Unite Behind Atlantic Offshore Wind

July 24 – Today, 217 environmentalists, conservationists, clean energy advocates, businesses, and local and state officials from up and down the Atlantic Coast are united in calling for bold action to accelerate the development of offshore wind. The coalition released a letter to the Obama Administration to show strong support for progress made to date and to urge continued leadership to ensure we see several wind farms spinning off our coasts within the next few years.

New Report Details Enbridge’s Costly Failures

July 23 – As demonstrators prepare a national remembrance of the Kalamazoo River tar sands spill tragedy, and the National Academy of Sciences hears testimony on the dangers of tar sands oil, National Wildlife Federation has issued a  report examining the practices of the company behind the spill, Enbridge, Inc. The report details Enbridge’s steady history of large spills in the U.S. and Canada, reckless expansion plans that would lead to more spills, and unseemly marketing tactics used to defuse criticism. The report makes seven recommendations to prevent further tragedies.

While Enbridge recently received a record fine and a scathing condemnation from U.S. agencies for the massive oil spill of two years ago, the NWF report makes clear that the Kalamazoo disaster is but one in a series of spills, and that more will occur due to an inadequate regulatory system.

And here are highlights from NWF in the News:

• Detroit Free Press: Report slams Enbridge Energy’s history of oil spills
• CBS News: Group criticizes Enbridge’s safety record
• Chicago Parent: Wildlife take the gold for true Olympic feats
• Fredericksburg Free Lance Star: Fossil fuels create pollution and global warming (OpEd)
• UPI: Groups get in line behind U.S. wind energy
• The Daily Democrat: Solar power stations put on the fast track

For more, visit www.nwf.org/News