| Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Wind Power News: New Jersey
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort 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.
Tempers flare at Cape May cairn lighting to oppose offshore wind farms
As the sun set Sunday night at the Cove, tensions rose at what was another strong showing for opponents of offshore wind farms. About 100 people gathered on a cold, windy evening at the southernmost point of New Jersey to keep up the fight against offshore wind companies with a cairn lighting. But one man spoke out after U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, rallied the crowd against windmills, asking everyone there whether they truly believed whales were dying as . . . Complete story »
Public opinion in NJ is turning fast on clean energy question
Most New Jersey residents agree that climate change is a real concern, but fewer people today believe that offshore wind farms are a good idea for the Garden State. The latest poll out of Stockton University recorded a 30-point drop in support for New Jersey’s plans to build wind turbines at sea to generate electricity, compared to four years ago. Fifty percent of New Jersey adults are in favor of offshore wind for the state, compared to 80% in 2019, . . . Complete story »
Jersey Shore mobilises against offshore wind power
oaring costs, high interest rates and clogged supply chains have buffeted the offshore wind power industry as it tries to expand from Europe to the US east coast. Add to these another obstacle: increasingly vocal and organised opponents who live or work along the beachfront. Their campaign threatens to slow down the Biden administration’s push to reach 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030, up from a minimal amount today. They are nowhere more active than in New Jersey, . . . Complete story »
State governors seeking federal help for offshore wind industry
A group of U.S. governors is calling on the Biden administration to help ease the “extraordinary economic challenges” that have combined to threaten not only future offshore wind development, but also the number of projects that are already under way. In a letter submitted to the White House, the governors of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island say “inflationary pressures, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the lingering supply-chain disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic” have resulted . . . Complete story »
6 arrested in Ocean City wind protest that blocked roadwork
Ocean City – Protesters on Tuesday morning blocked the start of work on 35th Street, a project laying the groundwork for power lines traversing the barrier island as part of an offshore wind energy project. Six people were arrested. City officials said they were given several warnings before they were charged with disorderly conduct – failure to disperse and obstruction of public pathways, a petty disorderly persons offense. At its height, the protest had about 60 people in the street preventing a . . . Complete story »
6 protesters arrested as onshore testing for NJ wind farm begins
Police in Ocean City, which has become the hub of resistance to offshore wind projects in New Jersey and elsewhere along the U.S. East Coast, arrested demonstrators after the city said they failed to heed four warnings to get out of the roadway. “There were three people lying in the street,” said Robin Shaffer, a spokesman for Protect Our Coast NJ, a residents’ group opposed to the local project and to offshore wind in general. Each of the protesters, none . . . Complete story »
New Jersey state Senate candidate highly critical of offshore wind recently did work for the industry
A New Jersey state Senate candidate who has made criticism of offshore wind energy a top plank of his campaign represented a company that sought to build the power lines to bring that wind power ashore. “Whales and dolphins are dying up and down the Jersey shore,” Steve Dnistrian, a Republican challenging Democratic state Sen. Vin Gopal in the 11th District, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, from an anti-offshore wind demonstration in March. “Gov. Murphy, listen to the . . . Complete story »
Winds of public support for offshore wind turbines shifting in New Jersey
The shifting tides of public opinion on energy development are evident in New Jersey, according to a recent Monmouth University Poll. Support for offshore wind energy in the state has seen a noticeable decline compared to previous years. The poll indicates that 54% of New Jersey residents currently favor the development of offshore wind farms, down from 76% in 2019. The decline is notably partisan. Republican support for wind energy plummeted from 69% to 28% over the last four years, . . . Complete story »
‘Not a victory’: Anti-wind farm crowd gathers on Ocean City beach days after Ørsted’s delay
A recent win in the anti-offshore wind farm movement didn’t stop some of those opposed to the project from gathering Sunday. It may have cooled the momentum going into Hands Across the Beaches 2, some felt. But the couple of dozen demonstrators on the 35th Street beach said there was still more fight left to protect their coastline. In a sign of solidarity, a small crowd stood at the water’s edge, joined hands and delivered the Pledge of Allegiance in . . . Complete story »
Support growing for offshore wind moratorium
Earlier this month, the Democratic state Senate president and Democratic speaker of the state Assembly released a joint statement echoing our calls for a pause on offshore wind development until more research could be done. Their statements read, in part: “There are still many unanswered questions about the economic impact these projects will have on ratepayers as well as potential impacts to one of our state’s largest economic drivers, tourism at the shore.” A reasonable and rational statement one would . . . Complete story »
