- \n
- Maryland’s offshore wind project faces legal challenges from Ocean City business owners and the Trump administration.<\/li>\n
- Opponents are concerned the turbines will negatively impact tourism and fishing, while supporters cite economic and environmental benefits.<\/li>\n
- The project, which could power over 700,000 homes, is part of a larger national goal to increase clean energy production.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Attracting 8 million annual visitors to its popular beach and bustling Boardwalk, Ocean City, Maryland, is a cornerstone of the state\u2019s culture and economy \u2014 but the view from the beach may change if the state government has its way.<\/p>\n
Instead of looking out at just the sky and waves, visitors could one day see tiny toothpick-like structures \u2014 windmills, actually \u2014 on the horizon. That prospect has prompted a fierce political battle over an ambitious, 114-turbine wind energy project that aims to generate renewable power for over 700,000 homes.<\/p>\n
Offshore wind developer US Wind leased the federal waters after winning a 2014 auction. The U.S. Department of the Interior approved the company\u2019s construction and operations plan in December 2024, greenlighting the Momentum Wind project, which could generate over 2,000 megawatts of clean energy in addition to the MarWin turbines.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has defended the project as a key way to increase the local energy supply in a state that historically imports about 40% of its electricity.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaryland is serious about offshore wind \u2014 not just because of what it means for our environment but also because of what it means for our economy,\u201d Moore said last year.<\/p>\n
Dough Roller owner leads Ocean City opposition group<\/h2>\n
![\"Kevin](\"http:\/\/www.delmarvanow.com\/gcdn\/-mm-\/a481916a9da4934da6f90fc763e8898a9ede1f3d\/c=0-248-4928-3032\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/03\/15\/Wilmington\/Salisbury\/636567245291583335-20180315-MR-ShoulderSeason.jpg?width=660&height=373&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/figure>\nYet while the state attempts to implement offshore wind capable of paving the way for a clean energy future, opponents on two fronts have fought to stop the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The founder of the Stop Offshore Wind campaign \u2013 Kevin Gibbs, owner of the Dough Roller restaurants in Ocean City \u2013 contends the presence of the windmills will hurt tourism and fishing in the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to have an economic impact on families that have been here for generations,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In addition to local pushback from community members like Gibbs, President Donald Trump issued an executive order during his first month in office withdrawing leases for offshore wind projects. A federal judge overturned that order in December, but US Wind has paused design work on the project as it awaits the resolution of a separate federal court case in which Gibbs\u2019 group and the Trump administration argue the federal permit for the project should be withdrawn.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo law would impose civil or criminal liability on US Wind if it continued to develop the project,\u201d U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher wrote in a recent decision in the case. \u201cIt simply has made a business decision not to do so in light of the political headwinds it perceives.\u201d<\/p>\n
How wind energy works<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"http:\/\/www.delmarvanow.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2026\/02\/05\/PSAY\/88533460007-windmills.jpg?width=660&height=394&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/figure>\nTo hear Julie Lundquist tell it, offshore wind makes sense off Maryland\u2019s coast.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a technology that we know how to build,\u201d said Lundquist,\u00a0 professor of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University. \u201cIt’s only getting more efficient, and it’s very well-suited for deployment in many locations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lundquist likened the technical process to that of old-school windmills with modern blades similar to airplane wings. The rotation of the blades generates an electric current which travels through a hub into the grid.<\/p>\n
Offshore wind tends to cost about 50% more than onshore wind, according to a study from the University of Maryland \u2014 with certain studies estimating an even greater difference. But Lundquist pointed out two key advantages. Population centers tend to be on coasts, which simplifies the transmission of offshore electricity. The ocean surface also helps produce steadier, more efficient winds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A supporter of the project, Maryland Del. Lorig Charkoudian, said offshore wind takes some pressure off the challenging storage of other forms of energy like solar power.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt blows harder at night when there\u2019s no solar, and it blows harder in the winter, when there\u2019s less solar,\u201d said Charkoudia, a Democrat from Montgomery County. \u201cThe more you have complementary production, the less storage you\u2019re going to need.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lundquist also said studies in Europe indicate the ecological footprint of the turbines may not be entirely negative. Research in the North Sea shows the underwater structure can act as a reef, attracting barnacles and other small marine creatures.<\/p>\n
While the U.S. trudges forward on offshore wind, Europe has installed over 6 gigawatts of offshore energy capability in the past two years, bringing the total number of operating offshore farms to over 150.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would like to make sure that the U.S. develops a viable industry, so that American workers can participate in this industry and take part in building that going forward,\u201d Lundquist said.<\/p>\n
If completed, Maryland\u2019s project will be a significant step toward former President Joe Biden\u2019s goal of establishing 30 gigawatts of energy potential via offshore wind by 2030. Biden\u2019s plan would see 10 million homes powered with clean energy, enough to avoid 78 million metric tons of carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere.<\/p>\n
But that goal in Maryland is in trouble for both local and national reasons.<\/p>\n
Ocean City offers strong pushback to wind energy plan<\/h2>\n
For many Marylanders, Ocean City is a vacation destination. Situated on the easternmost part of Worcester County, the town\u2019s population swells to about 300,000 during the peak travel season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Business owner\u00a0 Gibbs is one of the 7,000 year-round residents who call Ocean City home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s where I want to raise my kids,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve got a daughter on the way and I want her to have clean oceans and fresh seafood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gibbs owns and operates The Dough Roller, a popular restaurant with three locations. Gibbs\u2019 father founded the restaurant in 1980 and it quickly became a recognizable staple for vacationers and locals alike.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"In](\"http:\/\/www.delmarvanow.com\/gcdn\/presto\/2019\/02\/14\/PSAY\/28a91526-dc5b-4e3c-b8e4-36b78fc88538-efd-Dough_Roller_rebuilt_29.jpg?width=660&height=434&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/figure>\nWorking with local business owners, nonprofit organizations and residents, Gibbs started the Stop Offshore Wind campaign, which Ocean City and Worcester County have endorsed.<\/p>\n
The group is primarily concerned with the impact an impeded view could have on the tourist economy and with potential harm to fishing and marine life. According to city documents, the 938-foot-tall turbines will be 10.7 miles offshore, close enough to be in plain view from the beach.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to have hundreds of red blinking lights in the middle of your moon,\u201d Gibbs said. \u201cYour sunrises are going to be blocked with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gibbs said he is worried Ocean City may struggle to compete on the global stage of tourism if visitors are unwilling to rent homes in plain view of offshore turbines.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, proponents of offshore wind argue the impact on tourism would be either nonexistent or minimal. US Wind maintains that economic studies in places where offshore turbines have been installed show no adverse effects on tourism.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"http:\/\/www.delmarvanow.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/2017\/12\/20\/NCCT\/ghows-CC-60ccc1a9-32df-244a-e053-0100007f9ae0-c2c5620d.jpeg?width=660&height=412&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/figure>\nThe Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island was even linked to an increase in nightly reservations and occupancy rates during peak tourism months, according to a study from the University of Rhode Island.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some wind farms have even become tourist destinations themselves. Vineyard Wind in Massachusetts offers field trips to its facility, and at least five companies offer boat tours of wind farms in Great Britain.<\/p>\n
The legal battle finds new friend in President Trump<\/h2>\n
Local opponents of the wind project now have a friend in the White House.<\/p>\n
In October 2024, Ocean City and several co-plaintiffs filed a lawsuit challenging federal approvals for the project\u2019s construction and operations plan. The motion alleged the Department of the Interior failed to adequately consider the environmental impact, violating the Administrative Procedure Act and several environmental laws. In July, a federal judge allowed five of the plaintiffs\u2019 claims to continue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"President](\"http:\/\/www.delmarvanow.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2026\/02\/03\/USAT\/88498529007-2259266659.jpg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/figure>\nA few months later, Trump ordered the withdrawal of all offshore leases set aside for wind development until agencies could conduct further review, endangering Maryland\u2019s project as well as others along the coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seventeen states and Washington, D.C., challenged the order under the Administrative Procedure Act. In a major victory for supporters of wind energy, a federal court in Massachusetts struck down Trump\u2019s order in December on the grounds it was arbitrary and capricious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIndeed, the agency defendants candidly concede that the sole factor they considered in deciding to stop issuing permits was the president\u2019s direction to do so,\u201d wrote U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris.<\/p>\n
Work on similar offshore projects in Virginia, New York and Rhode Island resumed in January after recent judicial victories for offshore wind.<\/p>\n
But in Maryland, the Trump administration has also joined Ocean City\u2019s lawsuit against the Department of the Interior and US Wind, in which the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is seeking to backtrack its previous approval for the project. The bureau claims that after a comprehensive review of the permit, its officials underestimated the impact the turbines would have on search and rescue operations as well as commercial fishing.<\/p>\n
In response, Charkoudian and other Maryland lawmakers joined to form the Offshore Wind Alliance to support the project.<\/p>\n
Charkoudian said Trump\u2019s avid opposition to offshore wind is indicative of its strength.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump, who is doing everything he can to line the pockets of his billionaire fossil fuel buddies, is going particularly hard after offshore wind,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Charkoudian emphasized in addition to lowering rates, offshore wind has the ability to revitalize manufacturing jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
US Wind is currently developing a factory to produce monopiles \u2014 large, steel foundations driven into the sea floor to support turbines \u2014 at Sparrows Point in Baltimore County, which the company said could support over 500 jobs. The location was previously home to Bethlehem Steel, a faded manufacturing giant that was dissolved in 2003.<\/p>\n
Charkoudian encouraged the state to continue its support for the project and plan for future offshore wind sites in the hope that a future federal administration will support the technology.<\/p>\n
The future\u00a0of wind energy in Maryland<\/h2>\n
With the Trump administration determined to stop offshore wind, the technology\u2019s future in Maryland \u2014 and the United States \u2014 remains uncertain. While many lawmakers and academics point to it as one of many solutions to reduce the state\u2019s energy deficit in a sustainable manner, the lengthy process to approve and construct offshore farms is susceptible to delays from the executive branch.<\/p>\n
The U.S. lags significantly behind Europe on offshore wind. While only three farms have started operations along the U.S. East Coast (with more in the permitting and construction phase), the United Kingdom alone has 51 farms operating, leading the way for Europe\u2019s 37 gigawatts of energy capacity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the current opposition at the federal level, it\u2019s unlikely the U.S. will catch up soon. But according to author Jim Beach, who wrote \u201cThe Real Environmentalists,\u201d turning a profit is the key to providing clean energy.<\/p>\n
\u201cEntrepreneurs are already solving the problem,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re not sitting around waiting on grants.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Beach said the increasing cost of constructing offshore wind turbines has limited private investment in the sector, while entrepreneurs have doubled down on nuclear power.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe big companies that sell these huge installs are only going to make it work if there\u2019s a subsidy and government involvement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
While data from S&P Global points to growing private equity investment in offshore wind, these funds typically come once most of the legwork has been done and the project is nearing the finish line.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In Maryland, much of the legwork is done \u2014 but the future of offshore wind remains in the hands of the courts.<\/p>\n
Nancy Sopko, US Wind\u2019s vice president of external affairs, said in a statement that the company \u201cremains confident in the validity of all permits issued for our project, and we will continue to vigorously defend them in court.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Feb. 6, 2026, 5:02 a.m. ET Maryland’s offshore wind project faces legal challenges from Ocean City business owners and the Trump administration. Opponents are concerned the turbines will negatively impact tourism and fishing, while supporters cite economic and environmental benefits. The project, which could power over 700,000 homes, is part of a larger national goal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9890\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}