Wind Power News: New Jersey
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Offshore wind energy faces local backlash
Plenty of people in Ocean City, a popular beach community south of Atlantic City, are dead-set against a project proposed by Orsted and PSEG that still needs state approval to bring a power line onshore. “We don’t want this here in any way, shape or form,” said resident Suzanne Hornick, a leader of local opposition to the plan. She cites concerns about damage to the environment, the possibility of higher rates being charged to consumers, and the general lack of certainty about what is a brand new industry in this country. Complete story »
The great US offshore wind-power boom has begun to falter
Plans for massive offshore wind farms that President Joe Biden hopes will power as many as 10 million American homes by 2030 are starting to wobble. On Monday, New Jersey utility Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. said it’s deciding whether to pull out of Ocean Wind 1, a proposed project in the Atlantic Ocean that would generate 1.1 gigawatts – enough for 500,000 homes. Less than two weeks earlier, New England utility Avangrid Inc. said its similarly sized Commonwealth Wind project . . . Complete story »
Wind farm ‘beauty’ is in eyes of few beholders
To the Editor: I feel compelled to respond to the Oct. 5 Commentary titled “Turbines: A Welcome Sight Off Long Beach Island Coast.” Until reading the commentary, I did not realize how much the “beauty” of our shoreline could be enhanced by placing 357 1,000-plus-foot-tall windmills beginning just 9 miles offshore. That surprising sentiment puts the writer in an exceedingly small minority. Only the developer of a utility, or those aligned with one, could speak so glowingly of a large utility . . . Complete story »
BPU approves transmission line through Ocean City for wind farm
Over the objections of Ocean City, state regulators approved plans Wednesday for a transmission line that would run through environmentally sensitive areas of the beach to connect an offshore wind energy farm to a land-based power grid. Orsted, a Danish energy company, proposed running the line under Ocean City’s streets and bring the electricity onshore in Ocean City through a cable at the beach lots of 35th Street to connect the offshore wind turbines to the power grid at the . . . Complete story »
Ocean City presses fight against offshore wind farm
Ocean City plans to step up its fight against a proposed offshore wind energy farm during two upcoming public hearings that will represent a crucial regulatory showdown with the project’s developer. The city has intensified its criticism of plans by developer Orsted, a Danish energy company, to run a transmission line under Ocean City’s streets to connect the offshore wind turbines to the land-based power grid at the former B.L. England Generating Station in Marmora. Speaking during a City Council . . . Complete story »
N.J. will increase targets for offshore wind production to help battle climate change, Murphy says
Gov. Phil Murphy announced Wednesday he wants New Jersey to rely more on offshore electric wind generation to help the state cut its greenhouse gas emissions and run on renewable energy to fight climate change. Murphy, appearing alongside New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in New York City, said the new goal is for the state to increase offshore electric wind generation to get to 11,000 megawatts of usage by 2040. That’s an increase from his previous goal of 7,500 megawatts . . . Complete story »
Like fox in henhouse
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 . . . Complete story »
With wind projects looming who’s minding the NJ shore?
On June 24, the federal government released a draft environmental impact statement on the Ocean Wind 1 project off South Jersey. It asked the public to review this 1,400-page document with lengthy appendices and hundreds of scientific and technical references, and provide comments within 45 days. Based on public outcry it extended the comment period for another 15 days. But comment on what? The major decisions regarding the project, except the formality of its approval, have already been made outside . . . Complete story »
Why wind turbines can’t go farther out
Carl Menk asked why the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) cannot move the wind farms 40 to 50 miles offshore, and he cites the Hornsea Wind Farm as an example (“Plea to Legislators,” 8/10). Yes, the Hornsea Farm is about 55 miles off the east coast of England. That is about one-third of the distance from England to the Netherlands. So, why can’t Ocean Wind and Atlantic Shores move their projects off the New Jersey coast farther out? . . . Complete story »
Feds extend comment period for offshore wind project
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management extended the deadline for public comment on the environmental impacts of an offshore wind project after facing complaints 45 days was not long enough to review the 1,408-page impact statement. Some Jersey Shore residents, environmentalists and politicians pushed the bureau to extend the timeline for public input on Ocean Wind 1, a project by Denmark-based energy company Ørsted and Newark-based power company The Public Service Enterprise Group. Many voiced concerns at public hearings . . . Complete story »
