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Upgrading Regulations for Somerset County Wind Farm Project

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The Pioneer Green Energy wind farm project will take center stage over the next two weeks as the Somerset County Planning Commission reviews an ordinance drawn up two and half years ago for regulating wind energy.

Planning director Gary Pusey says the commissioners want to see if the ordinance is still appropriate for the project.

Among other issues is a provision that requires each turbine to be reviewed by the county’s Board of zoning Appeals.

Supporters say that the project would bring not only alternative energy to the Lower Shore county but would produce jobs and additional tax revenue.

Governor Martin O’Malley vetoed legislation earlier this year that would have delayed the project for more than a year for a study to see if the wind turbines would interview with the radar at the Naval Air Base on the Patuxent River.

The Planning Commission will be taking up the issue at tomorrow’s work session with another meeting set for September 4th to take public comment. 

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.