The $1.4 Million Campaign Against Offshore Wind
What It Has Cost Worcester County and Ocean City Taxpayers
Ocean City and Worcester County, Maryland, have, in recent years, been vehement in their opposition to the development of offshore wind projects along the Atlantic outer continental shelf. This opposition has historically been led by advancing — both in public facing materials, and in testimony before the Maryland Legislature and in regulatory proceedings — falsehoods regarding the impact of offshore wind turbines.
All this, on its own, would be a frustrating waste of time by public officials — and to the extent that lobbying monies were used by the localities — a waste of public funds. But Ocean City and Worcester County communications secured via the Public Information Act records reveal a much larger story. They show not only how much taxpayer money has been spent opposing offshore wind, but also how the local government helped fund, coordinate, and carry out that campaign.
As of June of 2026, Ocean City has spent at least $1.4 million in opposing offshore wind development. This includes:
~$912,000 on legal fees seeking to challenge federal and state permitting decisions (including expert testimony solicitation)
~$340,000 in lobbying costs
Direct payment of $169,000 to Worcester County to fund the Stop Offshore Wind campaign
Another $100,000 earmarked in the FY27 budget
Worcester County has provided similar matching dollars to fund the Stop Offshore Wind Campaign bringing the total anti-offshore wind public spend to close to $1.6 million.
These records also reveal how those taxpayer dollars moved through a network of organizations and consultants responsible for carrying out an anti-offshore wind campaign in the form of Stop Offshore Wind, Inc. Rather than remaining within local government, taxpayer dollars flowed from Ocean City to Worcester County which provided matching funding. These funds were then used to support Stop Offshore Wind, Inc. This includes paying for the consultants responsible for communications, media buys, advertising, merchandise, events, and other campaign activities. The records show that Bedrock Advocacy, in conjunction with local public employees, played a central role in managing many of these functions.
Stop Offshore Wind, Inc. is a 501(c)(4) lobbying organization designed to repeat and advance falsehoods — ostensibly to reflect “public outcry” against such projects. This organization represents not a genuine “grassroots” coming together of public interest, but an “astroturf” organization funded by taxpayers. Conservative think tanks such as Delaware’s Caesar Rodney Institute — and its ties to the fossil fuel industry — are also involved. This nonprofit campaigns against offshore wind not only in Maryland, but also in Delaware.
Although it is perhaps egregious enough that Ocean City and Worcester County took the step to create a shell organization to advance their policy of spreading misinformation about offshore wind, it is important to consider what the costs are to taxpayers in these localities.
At What Cost?
At the same time the City and County directed more than $1.5 million to anti- offshore wind spending, the County declined to fully fund its best-in-class school system's budget — resulting in reductions to after-school programming and limiting investments in technology, transportation, and school maintenance — local officials continued committing substantial public resources to opposing offshore wind.
Residents are also being asked to pay higher water and sewer bills because infrastructure requires additional investment. And those are just recent allocations: Ocean City and Worcester County roads flood with every rainfall, eyesore buildings continue to proliferate and public safety officials face new and increased challenges, like pop-up events. Whether one supports offshore wind or opposes it, taxpayers deserve to ask whether these expenditures reflect the community's highest priorities.