Maryland's energy-cool quotient may soon rival Denmark's

Rejecting President Bush’s call to greenlight offshore oil drilling, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley endorsed wind farms 12 miles off the coast of Delaware and Maryland, the Baltimore Sun reports today. Ocean City and Rehobeth beachgoers would barely see the 40 foot-high turbines–especially during our smoggy summers, noted John Hughes, Delaware’s secretary of natural resources and environmental control. 150 turbines would generate enough electricity to power 600,000 homes–that’s nearly all of Baltimore City–with zero emissions and minimal impact on marine life, according to Malcolm Woolf, director of the Maryland Energy Administration.

Yay for Maryland! Baltimore City is also getting more hybrid buses which means (in addition to less carbon output and particular emissions) our streets will be quieter.

Soon we may be as energy-cool as Denmark’s Samso island. As Elizabeth Kolbert reported in the New Yorker the other week, turbines on and offshore here generate so much energy the residents  sell it to the mainland. It’s worth noting their offshore turbines are giant–195 feet tall with spinning blades 120 feet long.