Maryland's Solyndra: offshore wind farms

Maryland’s Solyndra: Offshore Wind Farms

 

Maryland’s state government continues to define itself by the pervasive ignorance in its Legislative and Executive branches. Governor Martin O’Malley’s push for wind farms off the cost of Ocean City will cost more than President Obama’s recent Solyndra fiasco. Projected costs of two hundred million dollars will seem paltry in comparison to its final tally. Offshore wind farms have major downsides in comparison to the few megawatts of power they may provide at some future date. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, offshore wind power is the most expensive energy generating technology. The current state of offshore wind technology displays it is not ready for primetime. Turbines to generate power are approximately one third of the overall costs. Infrastructure and maintenance support complete the total. Wind power is inconsistent, costs four to ten times more to generate one kilowatt-hour than coal and there is no present means to calculate or project the future performance of an offshore facility. Obsession not rationale thinking has taken hold of the Governor’s mind in his attempt to push through the legislature this irrational project. Your government has not considered its citizenry in the equation. To pay for this fiasco levies will occur on all electric bills throughout the state, except for those “waivered” out. The surcharges will start as soon as the the first submarine is hired to erect the posts for the turbines. A question not covered by the Governor’s disingenuous press releases is: Who will be employed to build these inefficient monstrosities? Will O’Malley continue to use illegals and out of state workers as the bulk of the workforce to create this energy project to nowhere as he has done for past projects. Or will he utilize Maryland’s highly skilled workforce, union and nonunion, to bring this project to fruition? No matter how this potential project is managed; its costs will run into the billions, it will outlive O’Malleys tenure, the financial burden will fall on the taxpayers’ heads and it is doomed to failure. In every state and city where Democrats rule economic misery can be found. The Governor has his feet on the ground in Maryland but his eyes look towards Washington. What kind of Democrat would O’Malley be if he didn’t leave a string of failures behind himself as he seeks higher office in the near future. O’Malley’s Solyndra will be bigger than Obama’s. Perhaps Democrats view failure as a criteria to move up the food chain. If so, this wind project will be the biggest one of them all. Mark Davis MD, platomd@gmail.com, www.healthnetsreviewservices.com. Author of Demons of Democracy and the forthcoming book, Obamacare: Dead on Arrival, A Prescription for Disaster.