My take: Senators, council should take an 'All of the Above' offshore wind stance

In the end, the two sides reached a compromise in passing a  bill postponing the effective date until early next year. By that time, we should see a court ruling from a US Wind appeal of the Sussex decision.

While the chances of US Wind's appeal succeeding appear to be good, a strange situation could arise next year if the courts rule in the county's favor and the legislation still takes effect. The result would be another court battle.

While Senate Republicans won some brownie points with the national party and the  Sussex base, their stance is not business friendly. US Wind would pump millions of dollars into the Delaware economy during its existence.

Instead, state senators should look to nearby Virginia. In that state, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has taken an "all of the above" approach by endorsing the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project now under construction.

Youngkin has the advantage of not dealing with complaints about the impact of wind turbines on beachfront views and tourism that have fueled opposition in the Fenwick area. The Dominion Energy turbines are 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. US wind turbines would be visible on some days with the towers located about 10 miles from the beach.

The Virginia project, when built out, will power more than 650,000 homes. Two turbines are already in operation, providing needed data on the impact of offshore wind in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Taking an all-of-the-above stance and avoiding politically charged and often fact-free myths surrounding offshore wind would require senators to put some distance between themselves and groups like the Glasgow-based Caesar Rodney Institute.

CRI, under its energy chief David Stevenson, has undertaken a quixotic effort to halt East Coast offshore wind projects that have little or no impact on Delaware.

The effort suffered a setback when the Trump Administration reversed a stop-work order for the Empire Wind project off the coast of New York with vague indications that the state would consider a controversial natural gas pipeline.

One public policy group with similarities to CRI is Virginia's Thomas Jefferson Institute. That organization declined to join an earlier effort demanding a halt to the Dominion project and, unlike the Caesar Rodney Institute, refrained from filing lawsuits.

While skeptical of the Dominion project, the leader of the group says it is not a life-or-death situation, as portrayed by those supporting the Sussex Council denial. A look at the offshore simulation above  suggests it would not strike a fatal blow to tourism.

It would be wise for the county  council to adopt the "all of the above" or neutral stance, which has given the pro-business county a rare black eye.

Neither state senators nor the council have anything to lose by adopting the Virginia approach.

And in a couple of years, evidence will likely point to the need for offshore wind, coupled with battery backup, solar, and, yes, a gas-fired power plant or two - in other words, “All of the Above. - Doug Rainey, chief content officer.