A three-year campaign by the Sierra Club's Maryland Chapter has victory in its sights after the Maryland General Assembly gave final approval to send the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013 to Governor Martin O'Malley for his signature.

The state Senate passed its version of the bill by a resounding two-to-one margin on March 8, just over a week after the Maryland House of Delegates passed its version.

"Reconciling the House and Senate bills was the last major hurdle for the bill's passage," says Christine Hill, Maryland Chapter representative for the Club's Beyond Coal campaign. That's Hill, below at right, with colleague Vidal Hines. "With all the door-knocking, hundreds of phone calls and hand-written letters, letters-to-the-editor, rallies, and town hall meetings, this year we were positioned to win."

"We started this campaign with our allies in 2010 with a town hall meeting in Ocean City, out of which the Maryland Offshore Wind Coalition formed," Hill says. "Ever since then we've kept up a steady campaign of rallies, more town hall meetings, door-knocking, phone-banking, mailings, letters-to-the-editor, and lobbying members of the legislature, positioning ourselves to win."

Below, a 2012 offshore wind rally at the state capitol in Annapolis.

The Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act will help develop a 200-megawatt wind project off the coast of Ocean City by requiring electricity suppliers to buy offshore renewable energy credits. The bill has been championed from the get-go by Governor Martin O'Malley, who stands ready to sign the bill into law now that the House and Senate versions of the bill have been reconciled.

Based on a report from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the 200-megawatt project would create some 850 manufacturing and construction jobs for five years and an additional 160 ongoing supply and operations & maintenance jobs thereafter. Additional wind projects in Maryland and throughout the region would lead to a significant new sustainable industry for Maryland workers. The development of offshore wind power is also a boon to public health, as Maryland families stand to save nearly $2 billion in health-related costs over 20 years by transitioning to clean energy.