May 14, 2021 — With the state Board of Public Utilities’ anticipated decision on granting approval for a second wind farm off the coast expected next month, Long Beach Island officials met in April with counterparts from Cape May County and state and federal legislators to discuss the negative impacts of offshore wind farms on shore communities.
“The Island, as a whole, is against it. The whole coast is against it,” said Surf City Mayor Francis Hodgson, who hosted the virtual meeting last month. “This is how I look at it: What is LBI going to gain? Nothing. What’s the liability? It might ruin our tourism industry. It might ruin the fishing industry. Why take the chance?”
In addition to Island officials, Congressman Jeff Van Drew, state Sen. Chris Connors and Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli were present. Van Drew extended an invitation to the mayor of Ocean City, who sent a representative, and a businessman from Cape May County attended, Hodgson said.
“It (the opposition) has some power behind it,” Hodgson said. “We all agreed this is not the end of it. We’ve got to keep the pressure on.”
Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind is poised to build the second wind farm in the state, in part off the coast of Long Beach Island. The closest western, or in-shore, boundary of the lease site is 10 miles from Barnegat Light and 9 miles from Holgate. The lease area has the potential to generate 3 gigawatts of offshore wind energy. Atlantic Shores plans to start onshore construction of substations in 2024 and offshore construction by 2025. The project is a 50-50 partnership between Shell New Energies US LLC and EDF Renewables North America. It was formed in December 2018 to co-develop nearly 183,353 acres of leased sea area on the Outer Continental Shelf, located within the New Jersey Wind Energy Area.
As a fishing fleet owner, Larson said, “I stand behind the Garden State Seafood Association and the [Fisheries] Survival Fund and those kinds of outfits, and RODA (Responsible Offshore Development Alliance). He was referring to a coalition of fishing industry associations that are concerned about impacts to the commercial seafood industry.