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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

U.S. reviewing proposal for 2.4GW wind farm off the Massachusetts coast

July 1, 2023 — A proposed wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts with a potential to meet the energy demands of 850,000 homes is under an environmental review, the U.S. government said Thursday.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced the review process was under way for the 2.4 gigawatt facility proposed by Beacon Wind.

BOEM is advancing the Administration’s ambitious energy goals while remaining diligent in our efforts to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to ocean users and the marine environment,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein.

The Energy Department released a plan in March to meet President Joe Biden‘s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore energy by 2030, which would power 10 million homes.

Read the full article at UPI

BOEM Commences Regulatory Review of Eleventh Offshore Wind Farm Plan

Jul 1, 2023 — U.S. regulatory announced today that they are commencing the review of the eleventh offshore wind farm plan as efforts continue toward the goal of deploying 30 GW offshore wind energy capacity by 2030. The process is expected to run for about a year and could lead to a two-phase project that could produce a total of 2,430 megawatts of wind energy powering over 850,000 homes.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is starting the next phase in the process for Beacon Wind, which is being developed in a joint venture between Equinor and BP. This review comes as the first two commercial-scale offshore wind farms planned for the United States also started building their offshore assets. The U.S. is expected to have its first large commercial wind farms operating by the end of 2023.

“BOEM is advancing the administration’s ambitious energy goals while remaining diligent in our efforts to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to ocean users and the marine environment,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. She notes that the environmental review process seeks input from government partners, the fishing community, and other ocean users and includes public comments.

The Beacon Wind lease area is approximately 17 nautical miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and approximately 52 nautical miles east of Montauk, New York. The unique position means that the wind farm has the capabilities when completed to provide power to multiple locations in the Northeast United States. The current plan calls for the installation of up to 155 turbines, up to two offshore substation platforms, and up to two offshore export cables. They would make landfall in Astoria, in Queen County New York, and Waterford, Connecticut.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

Offshore wind, oil on different tracks

June 29, 2023 — The two-pronged offshore energy sector appears to be playing off the real estate adage “location, location, location.”

For now, the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico is in the driver’s seat though prices have not reached the triple digit highs expected this summer because of the OPEC cartel’s April decision to cut production.

The picture is quite different in the Northeast, where the fledgling offshore wind market is sustaining heavy blows from inflation, infrastructure limitations and, more recently, judicial scrutiny. An unworkable cost imbalance has forced the temporary scrapping of at least one developing wind farm, while developers also must face something oil and gas operators have been all too familiar with over the years: lawsuits.

Concerns over energy security and affordability have of late overshadowed transition to offshore wind and other renewable energy sources. To point, in what is described as a “short-term course correction,” BP, which holds a 50% interest with partner Equinor in the Beacon Wind and Empire Wind offshore wind farms off New York, dialed back its widely proclaimed renewable investments in favor of capturing the exponentially higher returns from core oil and gas assets. “We plan to invest up to $8 billion more this decade in our transition growth engines and about $1 billion more each year in today’s energy system, which depends on oil and gas,” said CEO Bernard Looney.

Read the full article at WorkBoat

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

Biden admin under fire for offshore wind impacts on military operations

June 28, 2023 — The Biden administration is facing pressure from lawmakers and experts who are calling for an immediate moratorium on offshore wind development until its effects, including on military operations, navigation and radar systems, are studied.

Earlier this week, Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., industry stakeholders and experts met with officials from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a top federal watchdog agency, to discuss their concerns about offshore wind development. According to Smith — who represents a district along the Atlantic coast home to a naval weapons depot and where offshore wind projects have been proposed — more than an hour of the three-hour meeting was devoted to military impacts.

The GAO recently agreed to investigate the wide-ranging effects of offshore wind development after Smith, fellow New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., and several other lawmakers called for a probe. The investigation will look, in part, into wind turbines’ impact on military operations and radar.

Read the full article at Fox News