Saving Seafood

Wind Farm Off New Jersey Coast Wins Biden’s Approval as Locals Balk

July 5, 2023 — The Biden administration on Wednesday approved Orsted A/S’s Ocean Wind 1 project, setting the stage for installation of as many as 98 turbines in waters off New Jersey over the opposition of some local residents.

The approval represents the third commercial-scale project of its kind in federal waters to win the US government’s backing — all under President Joe Biden — and another step toward his goal of installing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by the end of the decade.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland called the authorization “another milestone in our efforts to create good-paying union jobs while combating climate change and powering our nation.”

Under the Interior Department’s approval, as many as 98 turbines and three offshore substations could be installed about 13 nautical miles (24 kilometers) southeast of Atlantic City, with power cables coming ashore in Ocean County and Cape May County. According to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the project is estimated to have a generating capacity of 1.1 gigawatts, capable of powering more than 380,000 homes.

Read the full article at Bloomberg

NEW JERSEY: New Jersey’s other wind farm developer wants government breaks, too; says project ‘at risk’

July 5, 2023 — A company approved to build New Jersey’s third offshore wind farm says it, too, wants government financial incentives, saying its project and the jobs it would create are “at risk” without the additional help.

Atlantic Shores issued a statement Friday, shortly after New Jersey lawmakers approved a tax break for Danish wind developer Orsted, which has approval to build two wind farms off the state’s coast.

Elaborating on Monday, the Atlantic City-based Atlantic Shores said it has contacted the offices of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, and leaders of the state Senate and Assembly, saying it seeks a “solution that stabilizes all awarded projects.”

It remains to be seen how the request will be received by lawmakers. The tax bill passed by a single vote Friday.

Atlantic Shores did not say precisely what sort of assistance it wants, and refused to publicly clarify its request, or discuss the likelihood of being able to complete the project with its current financing.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

NEW JERSEY: Tax break for offshore wind energy developer Orsted narrowly approved in New Jersey Legislature

July 3, 2023 — A bill to let Danish offshore wind energy developer Orsted keep tax credits that it otherwise would have to return to New Jersey ratepayers was approved by the slimmest of margins in the state Legislature Friday afternoon and went to the desk of Gov. Phil Murphy, a strong supporter of offshore wind farms.

The measure initially failed to gather enough support in the Senate but won one additional vote in a subsequent try — just enough to pass it.

The bill to allow Orsted to keep federal tax credits was designed to help counter what lawmakers termed lingering economic effects on the developer from the COVID-19 pandemic and elevated inflation.

It applies to Orsted’s first project in New Jersey, Ocean Wind I, which aims to generate enough electricity to power 500,000 homes.

The New Jersey legislation highlighted a sharp partisan divide over offshore wind projects, with Republicans mostly opposing them as harmful to the environment, marine life and the fishing and tourism industries, and Democrats supporting them as crucial to moving away from the burning of fossil fuels that is contributing to a warming climate.

Read the full article at the Washington Post

NEW JERSEY: New Jersey Legislature votes to give Ørsted tax credits

July 3, 2023 — A furious lobbying effort by offshore wind opponents failed to sway New Jersey state lawmakers, who voted June 30 to let wind developer Ørsted use federal tax credits to boost financing its Ocean Wind 1 project. 

The vote along largely partisan lines lined up Democratic supporters, saying New Jersey stands to gain environmental and economic benefits from what would be its first utility-scale offshore wind project.

Republican legislators said Ocean Wind 1 and other planned projects imperil the state’s coastal tourism economy and fishing industries. That debate has been inflamed for months by an unusually high number of whale strandings on New Jersey beaches during the winter. Wind power opponents argued offshore vessels surveying wind lease sites could have been a factor, while federal officials insist there is no evidence to link them.

“They’re killing these whales they’re killing these dolphins,” said state Assemblyman Erik Peterson, R-Hunterdon County.

An intensive social media, telephone and email effort by Ocean Wind opponents pressured legislators, as lawmakers scrambled this week to wrap up New Jersey’s new $54.3 billion budget before July 1.

“Everyone’s emails have been clogged the last few days,” said Assemblyman Gerry Schafernberger, R-Monmouth County.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NEW JERSEY: Atlantic County Commissioners call for comment extension on offshore wind project

July 1, 2023 — The Atlantic County Board of Commissioners is calling on the Bureau Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to extend the comment period on the draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Atlantic Shores South offshore wind farm.

In a move that falls in line with requests by local shore communities, the board voted June 20 to ask BOEM to extend the deadline for public comment on the 6,200-page EIS for the 200 turbine project.

The official deadline for comment is July 3. But in light of a recently initiated US General Accountability Office investigation of offshore wind, and calls by shore communities up and down the East Coast to slow things down, the commissioners decided that more time is needed.

The resolution initially stated that there should be an indefinite moratorium on offshore wind development. After several amendments suggested Commissioner Richard Dase, it was revised to show support of the GAO investigation and seek a comment period extension of between 90 and 135 days.

In February 2023 the commissioners voted to support Rep. Jeff Van Drew and state Sen. Vince Polistina in the request for a 90-day moratorium on offshore wind development activity, joining the growing chorus of communities and officials concerned that offshore wind development activities contributed to the recent spike in marine mammal deaths.

During the discussion, Dase stated that the commissioners never heard feedback from BOEM. In the case of the June 20 resolution, the federal agency was copied directly to Jessica Stromberg from BOEM.

Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick, noting all of the federal agencies that have looked into the whale deaths. She said people hold out until they hear what they want to hear.

Read the full article at Shore Local News

NEW JERSEY: New Jersey poised to sweeten Ørsted’s wind power deal with federal tax credits

June 29, 2023 — Legislation to direct federal tax credits to wind developer Ørsted appears on track to win approval as part of New Jersey’s $53 billion state budget plan this week.

The measures could steer billions of dollars in federal tax credits to Ørsted, relieving mounting cost pressures on the company’s plans for the Ocean Wind 1 array of 100 turbines, which would be New Jersey’s first utility-scale wind power development. It’s a centerpiece of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s plan to shift New Jersey toward low-emissions energy sources by the 2030s.

Debate on bills in the state capitol Trenton centered on support for the Murphy administration’s goals for shifting away from fossil fuel energy, and objections from Jersey Shore community activists who say industrial development just offshore threatens their fishing and tourism industries.

“We rely on commercial fishing, we rely on tourism to literally buoy our economy,” said Kristen O’Rourke, the quality of life director for Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NEW JERSEY: Murphy’s ‘Billion Dollar Bailout’ Of Foreign Wind Farm Company Opposed

June 29, 2023 — Senator Ed Durr has voiced his staunch opposition to proposed legislation that seeks to redirect funds of up to $1 billion from ratepayers to a foreign company responsible for constructing a controversial wind farm off the coast of New Jersey. The legislation has raised concerns about the potential burden it may place on New Jersey ratepayers and the company’s alleged failure to adhere to prior agreements.

Durr, a Republican representing the third district, expressed his concerns regarding the current financial obligations imposed on New Jersey ratepayers, who already shoulder increased costs on their electric bills to support the development of offshore wind farms in close proximity to the state’s beaches. As part of the approval process, Ørsted, the foreign company in question, had committed to applying for and subsequently returning any federal tax incentives obtained to offset the higher costs currently being borne by ratepayers for the wind energy initiatives. However, Ørsted’s recent actions have raised doubts about their commitment to honoring this agreement.

Read the full article at Shores News Network

New Jersey: Despite criticism, lawmakers advance big tax win for offshore-wind developer

June 28, 2023 — Ørsted’s bid to obtain lucrative federal tax credits to fend off mounting challenges in building New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm moved forward under legislation approved by lawmakers Tuesday as they cleared bills ahead of this week’s deadline for a new state budget.

But the bill was amended by a Senate committee, requiring its Assembly counterpart to go along with the changes at another meeting planned for Wednesday. The imminent passage was hailed early Tuesday evening by Tim Sullivan, CEO of the Economic Development Authority, who called the offshore-wind sector the biggest single net economic opportunity in New Jersey.

After a six-hour meeting, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee voted out an amended version of the bill despite criticism that it would end up boosting the Danish energy company’s profits at the expense of utility customers.

Read the full article at NJ Spotlight News

Fishing, tourism dominate at Atlantic Shores public hearing

June 27, 2023 — Potential impacts on fishing, property values and tourism loomed large among critics of the Atlantic Shores offshore wind project during a virtual public hearing held by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

The online proceedings during more than five hours Monday pitted those views against project supporters, who focused on climate change and how it will affect the densely populated New Jersey coastline.

BOEM’s draft environmental assessment for the Atlantic Shores project off Atlantic City runs over 6,000 pages. Opponents are asking the agency to extend a 45-day public comment period past July 3, insisting the public needs more time to understand the proposal and its implications.

With turbines standing 574 feet above sea level at their rotor hubs and 1,047 feet high at the blade tips, the future visual impact – amply illustrated by simulated images in the DEIS document – is alarming seaside homeowners and the tourism industry.

“Frankly, all of us have bought a view,” said homeowner Paul Snyderman. “Everyone living at or near the shore has made an investment.”

BOEM workers said the DEIS document notes alternatives to reduce the visual impacts seen from shore. Removing 31 turbines from the array would move the first visible machines out from 8.7 nautical miles offshore to 12.75 miles, for example. Those options include restricting the height of turbines to 522 feet at the hubs and 932 feet at the blade tips.

The Atlantic Shores plan would cover some 885 acres of natural sandy bottom – habitat for scallops and surf clams – with rock dumped to protect turbine foundations, said Blair Bailey, general counsel for the Port of New Bedford, Mass. New Bedford is the top East Coast port for scallop landings, with Cape May and Barnegat Light, N.J., not far behind.

“No one has any idea what the impact of offshore wind with be on commercial fishing,” said Bailey, citing a joint report by the industry group Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, BOEM and NMFS issued in March.

Offshore wind advocates who see unreasonable fears among critics need to understand “the fishermen have a fear of uncertainty,” said Bailey.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NEW JERSEY: Controversial New Jersey Offshore Wind Developer Asking For More Taxpayer Funds

June 27, 2023 — According to a Politico article by Ry Rivard, the Danish wind developer responsible for constructing New Jersey’s first industrial offshore wind farm is seeking additional funds from state taxpayers before proceeding with their project to industrialize the state’s inshore waters.

Rivard reported from a Board of Public Utilities (BPU) meeting, where the five-member board began accepting proposals for new wind farms off the coast of New Jersey. During the meeting, it was revealed that the governor and the wind developer were renegotiating previously agreed-upon terms.

The negotiations between the Murphy administration and Ørsted, the Danish energy giant, have been ongoing to ensure the financial sustainability of the state’s first offshore wind farm. Ørsted is seeking to modify a portion of the 2019 deal made with the BPU, citing factors such as inflation, interest rates, and supply chain challenges. However, the specific details of Ørsted’s requests from the state have not been disclosed publicly. Two BPU commissioners revealed that Ørsted aims to retain federal tax incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act, which could cover up to 40% of construction costs.

Read the full article at Shores News Network