Now there's a variety of reports including national publishers with the following headlines:  

Forbes--Biden’s 30 GW Offshore Wind Goal Faces New Legal Setback In Maryland   Click Here   

CBS News--Ocean City to file lawsuit against offshore wind project    Click Here   

WTOP--Ocean City, fishing clubs and Thrasher’s French Fries sue federal government over offshore wind project    Click Here   

And a private fishing boat gets involved:

The Forbes report sets out a series of faults which could be called "lessons learned"

Lesson 1: Build Trust with Local Communities  Summarizing, the report states--"Wind projects failing to build early trust through meaningful local engagement often face insurmountable opposition later, regardless of their technical merits."   Seems evident that there was failure to build trust, over the 7-1/2 years that Mayor Meehan points to, where local views have been largely ignored.

Lesson 2: Distance From Shore Is Extremely Important   This factor is well know to local interests which have regularly been critical of the 10.7 miles offshore planned for the Ocean City project.  In contrast, the Virginia Beach Project is located 26 miles offshore.  And a Long Island project is 35 miles offshore.

Lesson 3: Concerns Over Economic and Environmental Impacts Loom Large   Many of the local objections were pointed out  in the WTOP report.  Among these are potential impacts on tourism and on the commercial and sports fishing interests.     

According to the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce, surveys have shown “a significant number of tourists will likely not return if turbines are visible from the beach.”  And the Chamber said the project “will drive tourists away from Ocean City by degrading the ocean and marine environment, endangering marine mammals, birds, and fish, excluding fishermen from the Project area, and destroying the open ocean view.”  

Local businesses concerned about declining tourism have included Hotel-Motel-Restaurant interests, the Coastal Association of Realtors and individual businesses such as Jolly Roger Amusements and Thrasher’s Fries. 

Professional organizations of fishermen like the Waterman’s Association of Worcester County and the “White Marlin Open” fishing tournament, the largest billfish tournament in the world, are among the critics. 

“By placing the Project structures right where the game fish are located, the Project threatens to destroy both the fish population and the sport of large game fishing in Ocean City, Maryland,” according to  plaintiffs.

Readers of this Forum may also recall the January 2024 meeting at the Ocean City Convention Center where considerably more details about environmental impacts were also also discussed, including the impacts on whales, porpoises, dolphins and other marine life including horse shoe crabs.