April 13, 2021
New Jersey

Hearings set for members of public to weigh in on offshore wind farms

Alison Grillo, for the Press | The Press of Atlantic City | pressofatlanticcity.com

The public will have a chance this month to tell the feds what it thinks about the massive offshore wind farms planned 15 miles from Atlantic City.

Hosted by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, three virtual “scoping meetings” on the Ocean Wind project are scheduled for the following days and times:

• Tuesday, April 13, 1 p.m.

• Thursday, April 15, 5:30 p.m.

• Tuesday, April 20, 5:30 p.m.

Officials will provide information and then take questions and comments on the project, to which the BOEM already has granted preliminary approval. Public hearings are part of the process the federal agency uses to gather information for its Environmental Impact Statement.

New Jersey anglers have raised concerns that the wind farm will impair fishing. Civic leaders and citizens have argued that the 800-foot-tall turbines will ruin the view from the beach, possibly reducing tourism. The wind farms, however, are central to Gov. Phil Murphy’s clean energy goals. In addition, the Biden Administration recently announced a new offshore wind plan with a goal of generating 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030.

Danish-based Ørsted is the developer of Ocean Wind. Up to 98 wind turbines would be built, enough to generate an estimated 1,100 megawatts of electricity. The project is one of two wind farms that multinational corporations want to build off the Jersey Shore; the other, known as Atlantic Shores, is to the north, off Long Beach Island.

Registration for the meetings is available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ocean-wind- virtual-public-scoping-meeting-tickets- 145312576829. Registration is not required to join the meetings.

Comments can also be submitted in writing:

Program Manager

RE: Ocean Wind COP EIS

Office of Renewable Energy

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, Virginia 20166

or via the U.S government’s web portal http://www.regulations.gov (search for Docket No. BOEM-2021-0024).

Information is available at https://www.boem.gov/Ocean-Wind-Scoping-Virtual-Meetings, or by contacting Michelle Morin, BOEM Office of Renewable Energy Programs, at the above address, or at (703) 787-1340, or michelle.morin@boem.gov.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2021/04/13/hearings-set-for-members-of-public-to-weigh-in-on-offshore-wind-farms/