Don’t be hoodwinked by Big Oil

As we enter the second quarter of the 21st century, we face a number of serious challenges in Delaware and across the country, including the climate crisis, exacerbated by our long-term reliance on environmentally destructive forms of energy; an increasing need for electricity as demand from data centers and AI surges and dirty power plants go offline; and a lack of good-paying, blue-collar jobs.

Fortunately, the much-publicized US Wind project will move us in a positive direction on all three counts. First, the project’s 100-plus windmills will generate 2 gigawatts of clean energy to feed our regional power grid, enough to power 1.5 million homes. Because Maryland and Delaware use the same grid, that energy will necessarily power homes in the First State as well as in the Free State.

Second, US Wind has committed to investing $200 million to strengthen the regional grid, relieving Delawareans from having to pay for those essential upgrades. And regardless of what happens with wind, our grid absolutely must be expanded.

Third, upgrading the grid will create jobs for local electrical workers, especially members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, who typically have to travel out of state, away from their families, to find work today.

The US Wind project has already been approved at federal and state levels, but it needs Sussex County Council to grant a conditional-use permit for the construction of a substation, which will be installed in an area already zoned for heavy industry, nowhere near anyone’s home, right next to a substation that has existed for well over a decade with no negative impacts.

Sadly, however, the permit was recently denied by county council, even though its own planning & zoning commission unanimously recommended approval. How does that make any sense?

To understand the situation, we need to look at the big picture. Any transition to a new way of living necessarily involves a shift away from the old order, and those losing market share never go easy.

Special interests tied to Big Oil are desperate to protect their bank accounts. Those interests include not only large corporations like ExxonMobil and BP, but also companies like Koch Industries that process and sell petroleum products, the think tanks and politicians who receive money from such entities, and the well-heeled lobbyists whose livelihoods depend on the continued dominance of Big Oil.

Consequently, despite the fact that 68% of coastal residents support offshore wind, Big Oil interests will do anything they can to protect their bottom lines. For years, their deep pockets have funded successful propaganda campaigns, first to deny the reality of climate change and now to spread disinformation about clean energy.

Shills for Big Oil claim that windmills will hurt birds when climate change is the real villain. Indeed, according to the National Audubon Society, "wind energy can be a powerful factor in protecting birds that we love,” because clean energy aims to ameliorate climate change, which is threatening two-thirds of bird species with extinction.

They also claim that windmills will hurt whales, another falsehood. Indeed, scientific experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the Marine Mammal Commission say there is no known relationship between offshore wind activity and whale mortality. But it sounds compelling to goodhearted people unfamiliar with the empirical evidence.

In addition, while people do have different aesthetic sensibilities, I just cannot imagine that a glimpse of windmills way off on the horizon would hurt tourism by keeping people away from our beautiful beaches and fun-filled beach towns.

Finally, I am also puzzled by the contention that somehow wind energy will endanger our national security because our grid might get hacked. How does transitioning to wind-generated energy increase the likelihood that our regional grid will be attacked?

And while it’s true that large-scale wind generation technology relies on international supply chains for equipment and components, that is simply a consequence of being part of the global economy.

In short, Big Oil defenders will say whatever it takes to hoodwink the public into opposing clean energy in order to protect petroleum profits.

Change always creates resistance, but it cannot be avoided. As Greek philosopher Heraclitus said long ago, “The only thing constant is change.” As we move into the second quarter of the 21st century, let’s embrace the changes brought by the innovative entrepreneurship of the clean energy industry, and not let the special interests of the few override the greater good of all.