August 27, 2022
Letters, New Jersey

Like fox in henhouse

Like Fox in Henhouse | The SandPaper | August 24, 2022 | www.thesandpaper.net

I read the article in which Gordon Perkins, an “expert” from Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, indicates it is “complicated, incredibly complicated” regarding the understanding of the visibility of the turbines (“Initial Study Shows Turbine Visibility Will Be Rare Off LBI,” 6/29). Yet, he indicates with absolute precision (to a decimal point) that visibility of the turbines will be limited.

He cites Rutgers University work on this. He indicates Atlantic Shores has developed a model that gets into the minutia of the details, yet the validation process by Rutgers is “starting.” So how can he be so precise? How can he be sure of anything when it comes to the visibility problem?

He also indicates not all turbines will be visible (when they are visible, in his opinion), but only “a couple of rows are visible.” Well, sure, maybe the ones in the front rows? At night, what about the visibility of the blinking lights on the top of the turbines?

Considering the sources of this information, this reminds me of the fox telling the farmer not to worry about the henhouse as he, the fox, has studied it and it is secure and good to go.

Anyone driving over the Causeway looking south can clearly see Atlantic City buildings, which are much farther away than the Atlantic Shores turbine proposal. The buildings are smaller than the proposed turbines. So 9 miles out will be incredibly visible. Remember, this will be the largest, closest and most visible turbine complex in the world. I don’t see how we will not be visually negatively impacted, environmentally negatively impacted, etc. based on current proposed distances of the wind turbines.

What is even more important to acknowledge is that our current governor has indicated he wants New Jersey to be the leader in wind energy, so he will be pushing for this project to go forward. At the current distance, this will be harmful to the Jersey Shore and the business (and sales tax revenue) it brings in.

As in most situations today, this will all come down to money (Atlantic Shores does not want to spend more to move the turbines out) and politics (Murphy/Biden administrations want the turbines). Unfortunately, because of our governor’s position on this issue, politics are already in play regarding this project.

With Murphy being a lame duck governor, all of our representatives must be contacted and told it should not occur as is currently proposed; they will be held responsible if it goes forward. In addition, the new, inaccurately labeled Inflation Reduction Act includes funding for wind farms. Since Murphy is a Democratic proponent, there is a chance New Jersey will get some funding. This makes our fight even more important.

George Thayer

Long Beach Township


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2022/08/27/like-fox-in-henhouse/