Saving Seafood

NEW JERSEY: Murphy signs law to save wind farm, touting New Jersey as ‘foundation’ of U.S. wind industry

July 9, 2023 — Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill Thursday to save New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm from financial uncertainty.

The governor held an event in Paulsboro and signed the offshore wind legislation along with two other economic development bills, including one with tax credits for the film industry, to emphasize a narrative about the “21st Century economy” he’s had since taking office.

“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity right now to bring tens of thousands of overwhelmingly union jobs and billions of dollars of investment to our state with offshore wind,” Murphy said. The marine terminal in Paulsboro and the wind port in Salem County, Murphy added, are “literally building the foundation of our nation’s entire wind industry.”

The offshore wind law will allow energy company Ørsted to keep hundreds of millions of dollars in federal tax incentives that the company otherwise would be required to pass along to state utility customers. Without the deal, the company and Murphy administration officials said the wind farm would not be built. In exchange for the relief, Ørsted agreed — and now by law will be obligated — to spend $200 million at the Paulsboro port where Murphy signed the bill.

The bill cleared the Senate and Assembly on the same day as the state budget last week.

Read the full article at Politico

BOEM approves Ocean Wind 1 construction plan off New Jersey

July 6, 2023 — Ørsted’s 1,100-megawatt Ocean Wind 1 project off New Jersey won approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Wednesday, days after state legislators racing a budget clock approved channeling additional tax credits to the developer.

BOEM’s sign-off on the Ocean Wind 1 construction and operations plan marks the third approval of a commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project in the United States, following on the Vineyard Wind project off southern Massachusetts and the South Fork Wind project, south of Rhode Island and east of Montauk on the east end of New York’s Long Island.

Ørsted’s New Jersey project will be a first for that state and is a centerpiece for Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration plans for expanding renewable energy sources. Republican state lawmakers have been increasingly opposed amid stiff resistance from their constituents in coastal communities and critics’ warnings that offshore wind will increase consumers’ power costs.

The federal approval came days after the New Jersey state Legislature, under the gun to complete state budget votes by day’s end on June 30, approved bills that will allow Ørsted to use federal tax credits to bolster financing for the project.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NEW JERSEY: US gives go-ahead for Orsted’s New Jersey offshore wind farm to start construction

July 6, 2023 — The federal government gave the go-ahead Wednesday for New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm to begin construction, clearing the way for the first of at least three — and likely many more — such projects in a state trying to become the East Coast leader in wind energy.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved a construction and operations plan for Ocean Wind I, a wind farm to be built by Danish wind energy company Orsted between 13 and 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City. The wind farm would power 500,000 homes.

Additional approvals from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency still must be obtained, which Orsted estimates will happen by the second quarter of 2024.

Read the full article at WSB-TV

NEW JERSEY: New Jersey Governor Signs Tax Break for Orsted’s Offshore Wind Farm

July 6, 2023 — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill Thursday giving a tax break to Danish offshore wind developer Orsted for the first of two energy projects it plans in the waters off New Jersey.

The governor, a Democrat, said the financial aid ensures that offshore wind projects and the jobs they create happen in New Jersey rather than in competing states.

Before the ink was dry on that bill, he faced pressure from another offshore wind company looking for similar assistance.

The bill allows Orsted to keep federal tax credits that it otherwise would have been required to pass along to New Jersey utility ratepayers. Lawmakers who narrowly approved the bill last week said the aid was needed to help Orsted deal with inflation and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If we don’t figure out a solution, this doesn’t get done in New Jersey,” Murphy said after the ceremony at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal, where the huge supporting structures for wind turbines, called monopiles, are manufactured. “We know war in Europe, inflation, supply chain — these projects have gotten a lot more expensive, and we’re not the only place that’s dealing with that. Either we get this bill done and the industry thrives here, and the jobs that are associated with it, or it goes somewhere else.”

Read the full article at US News

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