OCEAN CITY, Md. — Ocean City residents may soon see a change to their beachfront views, as U.S. Wind plans to construct a wind farm off the coast. Renderings submitted to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management indicate what the horizon could look like on a clear day.

The proposed wind farm has ignited controversy among locals, leading to the formation of the Stop Offshore Wind movement.

"They're not good for the environment and if they want to save the environment because of climate change, why would you go destroy an environment to try to save something?" said Sonny Gwin, a waterman who has fished these waters for 40 years. He expressed concern about the construction and operational impacts on marine life.

"Maryland has its blue crab. Well, blue crabs go out in the ocean and bury in the wintertime, and then when they have their eggs, the little ones grow up in the ocean. So this could be detrimental to our blue crabs. It could be detrimental to all kinds of small fish that depend on this area to survive, to grow, to come in and feed this country," Gwin added.

According to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's Final Environmental Impact Statement, the wind farm could disrupt local wildlife, affect water and air quality, and negatively impact the recreation and tourism that Ocean City relies upon.

Kathy Phillips views the situation differently. Concerned about climate change, she supports the project, despite the vocal opposition from some neighbors with whom she has lived near for decades.

"Here on Delmarva, we are one of the main areas along the coastlines of the entire U.S. that is most susceptible to sea level rise, to storm inundation," Phillips said. "I don't tend to look at it from the me. How is this impacting me? Because quite frankly, I think that's the wrong argument to be holding right now. We need to get away from higher carbon emissions."

Phillips dismissed arguments that the wind farm will substantially impact property values or rental tenants. "I'm afraid that a very vocal and well-funded minority has misrepresented to the general population what life is going to be here after wind turbines, and I don't see it as being as dire," she said.

Senator Mary Beth Carozza has been actively opposing the project, highlighting the scarcity of oceanfront land in Maryland.

"We don't want to be known for the beach town where you can see the turbines. That's not what we want to be known for," said Carozza, a Republican representing Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties.

While U.S. Wind has promised job growth in the region, Carozza is concerned about potential job losses in the fishing industry. "We actually question if the jobs are really there when you're talking about negative impacts that would actually eliminate jobs, you know, whether it's in the tourism industry or with commercial fishing," she stated.

Bill Chambers, with the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce, supports the wind farm, viewing it as a job creator. "Is it a huge job creator? Is it a creator of tens of thousands of jobs? No. Is it a creator of new jobs not seen in Maryland? Absolutely," he said.

Chambers is part of the Lower Shore Wind Alliance, which advocates for offshore wind projects. He sees this as an opportunity for Maryland to diversify its energy portfolio amid rising energy costs.

Senator Carozza remains hopeful that an administration change at the federal level could halt the project. "If a decision could be made to halt New York's offshore wind energy project, then we want the same halt to Maryland's offshore energy project, and we have made an official request," she said.

As of now, U.S. Wind has received final approval for its construction and operations plan, aiming to develop multiple farms off Maryland's coast with a target of generating 8.5 gigawatts of electricity in the state.

We reached out to U.S. Wind for this story, giving them two weeks to provide someone for a sit-down interview.

The company decided to decline our request but did provide us with people in support of the project not with the company.

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