Maryland’s windy bounty

Hurray for Maryland as it progresses toward making 20 percent of its energy renewable by 2022. Two federal leases for wind farms have already been awarded — one for 187 offshore turbines near Ocean City that will produce 750 megawatts and one 17 nautical miles northeast of Ocean City that will produce 120 megawatts. The Maryland Public Service Commission must now review the eligibility of each project for Renewable Energy Credits, a state subsidy funded partly by energy consumers. Approval for both is expected in May (“Two offshore wind projects to be considered by Maryland regulators,” Nov. 23).

We have only to gain from these mammoth projects. The 750 megawatt project alone produces enough electricity to power 500,000 homes. Imagine what kind of pollution would we be manufacturing if we were to do the same with coal, gas or incineration? Wind is as clean as energy comes, and complaints such as “Windmills obstruct my view of the horizon,” are ludicrous. So you prefer views that are obstructed by smog from dirty energy?

There are many jobs to be filled not only in construction (steel, etc.) but in the continued operation and maintenance of wind farms — far more than in fracking and coal industries. Such potential growth is one of the many reasons to make sure that Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of the Clean Energy Jobs Act in 2016 is overridden in Maryland’s upcoming legislative session. Complaints about subsidies for offshore wind coming out of consumers’ pockets are also ludicrous because more employment and less medical bills put money into our pockets. We look forward to more wind farms on the Atlantic Coast.