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Skipjack Wind Farm is a win for Delaware

November 8, 2019

Opponents of clean energy are making baseless predictions that are long on fear and short on facts. (We must protect tourism from offshore wind Oct. 29.)

A simple review of the facts from independent sources shows that wind energy projects in operation are not a threat to nearby home sale prices. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory analyzed more than 50,000 sales of homes within 10 miles of wind turbines in nine states and found “no statistical evidence that operating wind farms have had any measurable impacts on home sale prices.”

The Skipjack Wind Farm off the Delaware-Maryland coast will be nearly twice as far from the nearest home as the properties analyzed by Berkeley Lab.

The Skipjack Wind Farm developer, Ørsted, is willing to spend $18 million to refurbish Fenwick Island State Park, including a new nature center, playground, athletic courts, restrooms, and more parking spaces. This desperately needed facelift will make the park more family-friendly and more accessible to all Delawareans. The current lack of parking spaces at the park leads to chronic backups along Route 1. A nicer park means a healthier tourism economy, which we should all support. 

If opponents of clean energy get their way, Delaware taxpayers will foot that $18 million bill over the long term while prolonging the region’s reliance on dirty fossil fuels. We can do better. Let’s support our state parks and our environment by supporting the Skipjack Wind Farm. 

Joanne Cabry
Rehoboth Beach

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