As I get ready to teach the energy unit, I'm catching up on the latest news about offshore wind energy production in Maryland.
In December 2021, the Maryland Public Service Commission rewarded renewable energy credits to two companies for their plans to build offshore wind energy plants 15 miles out of Ocean City. Plants are expected to be operational by 2026, in time to meet the requirements of the Clean Energy Jobs Act of 2019, which requires that half of the energy used in Maryland come from sources like solar or wind.
February 2022: the groundwork is being laid in Sparrows Point for a large steel plant that will produce the turbines and "monopiles" which are the structures to which the turbines are attached.
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Update, August 2022: Virginia is getting in on the action. Two test turbines have been up and running since Fall 2020, and the full project will consist of 176 turbines, enough to power 660,000 homes, by 2026.
In other words, things keep moving...
