Document provided by Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), courtesy of Tom Carlson, CCAN Director. Presentation scheduled 8/17 12pm-2pm at St. Michael the Archangel School, 10 Willow Ave., Overlea, MD 21206. Event flyer posted here: http://www.slideshare.net/ofbpa/borwn-bag-lunch-meeting-august-2011

1. Maryland Offshore Wind: Frequently Asked Questions
How many jobs will offshore wind power create?
Developing 500 MW of offshore wind power for Maryland over the next five years could create 2000
jobs for manufacturing and construction and 400 permanent jobs for operations and maintenance.
Further development of offshore wind power will lead to more jobs for years to come. The United
Steelworkers in Maryland, Baltimore Building and Construction Trades Council, the Sheet Metal
Workers of Maryland, and the Maryland AFL-CIO all supported the bill for its job creating potential.
Why is offshore wind power essential to Maryland's clean renewable energy future?
According to the Maryland Energy Administration, offshore wind is the state's only natural resource
plentiful enough to meet our renewable portfolio standard of 20% by 2022.
How much electricity can Maryland generate from offshore wind power?
A 500 MW project would supply enough electricity to power 79% of all the homes on the Eastern
Shore of Maryland, or more than half of the homes in Baltimore City. With current technology,
offshore wind power could meet more than one-third of our regionʼs need for electricity. The capacity
of offshore wind power will become even greater with advances in technology. It has the potential to
produce the equivalent of two-and-a-half times Marylandʼs current electricity load.
How will offshore wind power help reduce global warming pollution?
By displacing fossil fuel pollution, a 500 MW offshore wind project will reduce emissions of the
greenhouse gas, CO2, by 945,000 tons per year. This is the equivalent of taking nearly 200,000 cars
off the road. With 3,000 miles of shoreline and ample farmland, Maryland is particularly vulnerable to
the effects of climate change from sea level rise to more extreme weather events, increasing our
need to move to clean energy.
How will offshore wind power affect the health of Maryland residents?
By avoiding harmful emissions from fossil fuels, a 500 MW offshore wind park off the coast of
Maryland will save 20-30 lives and $160 million in public health damages every year. Over a 25-year
contract, the park will save 700 lives and $4 billion in avoided health costs.
In addition, the Army Corps of Engineers found that the 468 MW offshore wind park planned for
Massachusetts will prevent 5,000 asthma attacks and 200 emergency room visits every year.

2. Is offshore wind power reliable, even though the wind isnʼt always blowing?
Offshore wind parks provide a local source of electricity and improve the reliability of the electricity
system as a whole.1 European nations have demonstrated that it is possible to shift 20 percent or
more of their power generation to wind without adverse effects on the reliability of the electric system.
Will the windmills be visible from the beach?
The Department of Interior accepted recommendations from Marylandʼs Department of Natural
Resources to open offshore blocks for leasing at least ten miles off the coast of Ocean City and 20
miles off the coast of Assateague Island.2 At this distance, the turbines will be barely visible, if at all,
from the shore.3
How will offshore wind power impact my electricity bills?
Based on a comparable offshore wind project in Delaware, the Public Service Commission projects
that offshore wind will cost the average Maryland ratepayer $1.44 per month in 2016 and go down
from there. This amount can be saved by replacing two 60-watt light bulbs with more efficient
compact fluorescents. From 1999 to 2009, Maryland energy bills tied to volatile fossil fuels roughly
doubled. Offshore wind power offers reliable prices as the fuel (wind) is free and the rate can be
locked in over a 25-year period.4
Will investing in offshore wind power be good for Maryland business or create jobs?
The economic impact of offshore wind expands well beyond direct jobs for developing and operating
the park. Based on a regional employment model analysis by the Maryland Department of Business &
Economic Development (DBED), the total economic impact of offshore wind over five years is more
than $1.9 billion, 8,200 job-years and $14 million in state tax revenues. Offshore wind development
will put people to work, encourage further investment in the state, and improve the quality of life of
Marylanders by reducing health costs.
While interstate commerce law forbids Maryland from requiring that all offshore wind turbine parts
read "Made in Maryland," the legislation encourages local development and in-state jobs in a number
of ways. As only projects that connect to the distribution grid of the Delmarva Peninsula will be
considered, this limits feasible options to connecting in Maryland or Delaware. The legislation also
directs the Public Service Commission to favor projects that benefit Maryland's electric grid and those
that will create the most net benefits for Maryland workers and businesses (including small and
minority owned enterprises).
Will offshore wind turbines affect birds and/or marine life?
A 2010 study by the Stockholm University Zoology Department found that properly sited offshore
windmills do not harm marine life, instead encouraging more marine life because artificial reefs form
at their foundations.5 Studies over the past two decades in Europe have found that properly sited
offshore wind parks have no significant impact on migratory or shore bird populations.6 Utilizing
offshore wind power will also avoid global warming pollution, which is the most pressing danger to
bird and marine life, causing sea level rise and the destruction of wetland habitats for birds and other
wildlife in Maryland. 7

3. How does the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act ensure Maryland ratepayers are protected?
The PSC will reject any bid that they project to cost $2.00 extra per month for the average ratepayer
(1000 kw/hr per month usage) or 2.5% extra for nonresidential ratepayers. Also, the PSC will only
consider proposals that are similar in price to the Delaware and Massachusetts contracts for offshore
wind energy. These provisions ensure ratepayers are protected in our state's initial moderate
investment in offshore wind power. During a work group on the bill in 2011, PSC Chairman Doug
Nazarian stated that he believed the bill did everything possible to control costs for ratepayers.
How does the $2.00 rate projection cap work?
When reviewing proposals, the PSC will project how much ratepayers will pay to invest in offshore
wind power. This rate impact projection is based on the difference between the expected price of
fossil fuels and the price of offshore wind agreed to in the contract. While the price of offshore wind
agreed to in the contract will be stable for 25 years, the price of fossil fuels may vary from the
projection. In fact, from 1999 to 2009, the cost of energy to Marylanders roughly doubled.
If fossil fuel prices end up being lower than projected, Maryland will pay slightly more for offshore
wind power comparatively, but less overall on their bills. In this scenario, Marylanders will be paying
less for energy than they are today as most of their energy bill will still be derived from fossil fuels at
lower-than-projected prices.
If fossil fuel prices are higher than projected, then Maryland will pay less for offshore wind power
comparatively. In fact, due to the billʼs provisions, Marylanders will receive a rebate once the price of
fossil fuels becomes higher than the price of offshore wind. Hence, in any scenario, the rate
projection cap ensures that Maryland ratepayers are protected.
Will renewable energy development create net positive employment?
According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the European Union found that realizing a
20% renewable energy standard (RES) by 2020 would provide a net effect of about 41,000 additional
jobs and 0.24% additional gross domestic product (GDP).8 Recent research has found "that it is only
when conventional energy prices are forecast to be very low that net employment impacts from
[renewable energy] are negative."9
Has wind power reduced emissions in real-world electricity systems?
The most recent report from the U.S. Department of Energyʼs (DOE) Energy Information
Administration (EIA) states that “increased wind-based generation since 2000 was responsible for
about 39 million metric tons of avoided emissions in 2009 relative to electricity supplied at the
average emissions rate.”
The journal, Energy Policy, found that offshore wind power produces fewer emissions over its life
cycle ((9 g CO2e/kWh) than any other power source today.10 For comparison, Nuclear averaged (66 g
CO2e/kWh), natural gas (443 g CO2e/kWh), and coal (960-1050 g CO2e/kWh).11
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, coal consumption fell in Denmark from 16.6 million short
tons in 1996 to 7.8 million short tons in 2008 as more wind power was brought on line.12 In the same
period, carbon dioxide emissions fell by over 20 million tons!13 The primary reason for the decrease in
emissions was a conversion to less carbon intensive fuels and an increased use of renewable energy
sources, including wind.14

4. Will wind power be part of a future zero-carbon grid?
While our goal right now is to reduce emissions as much and as quickly as possible, there are
technological scenarios in which we will achieve a zero carbon grid with wind power providing part of
the solution. As offshore wind power is a variable source, it is often combined with load
following/peaking power such as natural gas. However, there are scenarios in which wind power
could be combined with other sources of energy and storage technology to obtain a zero carbon grid.
The variability factor of many renewable energy technologies can be mitigated in the following ways;
(1) a smart balance of sources (geothermal, tidal and concentrated solar thermal for baseload,
photovoltaic solar power for energy during the day, and wind power for energy at night), (2)
interconnecting geographically spread-out renewable energy sources, (3) using renewable load-
following/peaking power, such as hydropower to balance demand, (4) using smart meters to charge
electric vehicles when other energy demand is low, and (5) storing electric power for later use to
balance demand.15 These technologies are already available and are being developed further.16
Wind speeds can also be forecast with more than 80 percent accuracy and are even more consistent
offshore.17
Are potential decommissioning costs factored into the project?
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) requires that
provisions are put in place to decommission the offshore wind project at the end of its useful life.18
The cost of decommissioning is factored into the cost of energy in the power purchase agreement
(PPA) or long-term contract. The options at the end of the projects useful life include: retrofitting the
turbines to continue generation, taking out the turbines, or knocking down the turbines to create
artificial reefs.
Are distribution costs and the upgrading transmission infrastructure factored into the project?
The cost of constructing and upgrading electrical interconnection facilities, electrical transmission and
delivery is also included in the power purchase agreement (PPA) or long-term contract as it was for
the current Delaware offshore wind project.19
The size of the current proposed contracted project will not require new transmission projects. Down
the road, new transmission projects may be developed to move power, including from offshore wind,
up and down the east coast (either onshore or an offshore transmission grid similar to the Google
Atlantic Wind Connection proposal). These new transmission projects will need to be evaluated on a
case by case basis in terms of costs and benefits.
To get involved in the campaign, for further information and for citations, please visit MarylandOffshoreWind.org
or contact Tom Carlson, CCAN Maryland Director at: tom@chesapeakeclimate.org.