Study indicates substantial benefits to Somerset

As Somerset County and Maryland make decisions on the future of wind energy on the lower Eastern Shore, it is important to keep in mind that there are real and substantial economic benefits that accompany major projects like the Great Bay Wind Energy installation.

A little more than two years ago, the Jacob France Institute at the University of Baltimore was commissioned to evaluate the projected effects on employment, labor income and output, and the fiscal effects at the county and state levels. This was done using a fact-based, unbiased model developed by the University of Minnesota, which is the gold standard for economic impact analysis and is used in a variety of industries in analyzing large scale investments

Our analysis found construction of the full project will create more than 500 jobs in Somerset County (and more than 765 overall in Maryland), and that there will be more than $50 million in spending in Somerset County alone during the construction phase.

The study also concluded during the 30-year life of the wind project, Somerset County will receive more than $44 million in new tax revenues — money the county could use to improve schools, fix roads, offset residents’ taxes or fund other programs in the community.

Then there is the benefit to local farmers who have agreed to place turbines on their land.

These farmers can look forward to a new source of revenue that enables them to maintain and preserve their agricultural way of life instead of needing to subdivide or sell off their land.

The full study is available for review at greatbaywind.com. Obviously, the largest economic impacts will take place during construction, but significant impacts will be seen throughout the life of the project.

While some might seek to dismiss the job creation — and even the manufacturing of wind turbine parts — as having larger impacts on out-of-state workers and foreign manufacturers, the reality is that Baltimore’s harbor access as well as Salisbury’s central location and rail access put Maryland in a strategic position to play a major role in the supply chain for wind energy components. A major energy project located on the Eastern Shore presents an opportunity to develop industries ancillary to the direct operation of wind energy projects within and far beyond Maryland.

Some opponents of wind turbine projects raise questions about the expense and complication of adding wind energy to the region’s power supply. But these claims have repeatedly been proven false across the country, where wind power is competing with — and sometime cheaper than — traditional fossil fuel generation.

In fact, a recent U.S. Department of Energy report found the seven states that generate more than 7 percent of their energy from wind have seen their electricity prices fall by 0.37 percent during the past five years. In the same time frame, all other states combined have seen their energy prices rise by 7.79 percent — more fact-based proof that wind power not only strengthens our local economy, it also reduces our energy bills.

The current heavy reliance in Maryland (and the Eastern Shore) on coal, natural gas and diesel fuel leaves us vulnerable to volatile fuel prices. Wind power is free and inexhaustible. This is before we even get into the debate about the external health costs of our reliance on fossil fuels — let’s not forget Maryland has among the highest cancer rates and premature deaths from air pollution in the United States. Somerset County itself consistently ranks among the highest jurisdictions for cancer deaths in the state.

With the right strategic planning, the Lower Shore has an opportunity to develop manufacturing and other activities that are directly related to the installation, operation, maintenance and repair of wind energy equipment. In fact, my understanding is wind-energy-related companies which have been looking at setting up Maryland operations were among those who spoke out against legislation this past spring that would have blocked the Great Bay project.

These companies want to locate here in Maryland and create jobs in the state — provided there are wind projects that are permitted to move forward. The economic benefits will be real, if Somerset County chooses to embrace them. For our economy, our future and our health, let’s move clean energy forward.

Kenneth R. Stanton is an associate professor of finance and economics at Coppin State University and lead author of “Economic Impact of Wind Generation Project in Somerset County,” the Great Bay Wind Energy economic impact study commissioned through the University of Baltimore, Jacob France Institute.