July 13, 2023 — A tangle of litigation could delay the start of New Jersey’s first offshore wind energy project, as developer Orsted is suing governments to stop delaying necessary permits, and citizens groups try to halt the project altogether.
The latest in a fast-growing thicket of litigation came July 3 when Danish wind power developer Orsted sued Cape May County, alleging the government is dragging its feet in issuing a road permit needed to do test work along the route a power cable would run.
The company is also suing the city of Ocean City over similar delays to the project, which the federal government has endorsed as a significant piece in the White House’s efforts to “jump-start the offshore wind industry across the country,” in order to tackle the catastrophic effects of climate change.