Great Bay Wind says it’s turning to solar power instead.
Pioneer Green Energy has announced that the obstacles to erecting a large wind farm in Somerset County have led to an indefinite suspension of its plans.
The Salisbury Daily Times reports that in a letter sent to the Somerset County Commissioners last week the company said that with language in the federal defense legislation last year delaying the project had caused too much uncertainty to move ahead.
The amendment sponsored by Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski called for a $2 million study that would have explored the impact on the nearby military test range and turbine motion.
The paper reports that Pioneer Green Solar would be offering plans for a solar farm in the county and that it has been working with the community, landowners and farmers on the project.
Wind Off Virginia Coast
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - The government has given the green light for a project off Virginia's coast to test the waters for wind generation.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced Tuesday that it has issued a lease to Virginia in federal waters for two wind turbines.
Each would rise more than 500 feet about 25 miles off Virginia Beach. They are intended to collect data on wind potential, weather and other conditions relevant to the development of wind turbines in open ocean waters.
Dominion Virginia Power would operate the turbines. The utility has also successfully bid on a vast expanse of ocean set aside for wind generation.
The turbines are scheduled to be erected in 2017, subject to state and federal reviews.
The project is financed by a $47 million federal research grant.
