This issue of offshore wind farms off the coast of New Jersey has generated lots of attention and opposing opinions.
Proponents argue it is a source of clean energy that will create jobs and help combat climate change. Opponents counter with concerns for its impact on marine life, tourism and fishing industries, and its cost to consumers.
Like many, I initially believed the offshore wind projects proposed off our coast sounded like a good idea with the expectation of as many as 3,000 new jobs during development in addition to full-time permanent jobs in operations and maintenance.
We were told many of these jobs would require the same skills as those in aviation maintenance, thus aligning offshore wind with our efforts to develop the aviation industry and diversify the regional economy.
My only stipulation was that concerns about the impact of offshore wind on tourism, marine life, and fishing and boating, be satisfactorily addressed so the majority of residents and businesses could feel comfortable to move forward with these projects.
Numerous reports have since been issued with some conflicting data serving to continue the debate and controversy.
Most recently, a lawsuit filed by eight shore towns, including Brigantine and Ventnor, in opposition of the Atlantic Shores project, was struck down by a Superior Court judge for having no legal standing.
Personally, I have my own very serious concerns about these projects, but as county executive, I do not rule by decree. I represent the interests of residents from all 23 municipalities.
Four of the five Atlantic County shore towns have voiced their opposition to the offshore wind projects with only Atlantic City standing in favor of them.
I, along with the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners, am being publicly called out by some opponents for our “indifference.” I assure you, our issue is not indifference but in having definitive facts on which to base our decisions that will impact the residents of all 23 municipalities who we collectively represent.
Opponents of offshore wind wonder why we are not taking the same stand as Cape May County officials to prevent these projects and send the developers packing. But contrary to popular belief, Cape May County may only enjoy a temporary reprieve.
Orsted still maintains its lease for two projects. It apparently decided not to continue to fight all the negative publicity regarding economic and environmental damage after the mammals started washing ashore.
High inflation, rising costs and supply chain issues also contributed to Orsted’s decision to walk away. It is interesting to note that in Europe, 79% of new wind capacity last year was built onshore, not offshore.
Onshore wind farms, like the one we constructed and maintain at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority, are significantly less expensive.
Federal regulators have now approved new regulations to help fast track the offshore wind application and approval processes.
Perhaps President Biden and Governor Murphy should have insisted on regulation standards and guidelines for offshore wind projects based on authorized impact studies before they pushed their agendas.
Such regulations could identify the size, quantity, distance from shore, implementation methods, permissible locations of transmission lines, etc., and do so in cooperation with the local governments and industries (tourism, fishing, boating) they directly impact.
Author
Discover more from Downbeach BUZZ
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Thank you for a balanced, clear set of comments – not fueled by opinion, emotion and belief masquerading as “facts”. My concern is that those MOST concerned about (unproven) impacts of windfarms seem just fine with the long known and actually PROVEN negative effects of gas and oil as the status quo.
Well done, sir. Balance… what a concept.
Look up Virginia Beach windmill project
I did. Last Oct., 2023, VA received “key federal approval” to proceed with its enormous wind farm, leaving the taxpayers with limited oversight (Dominion objected to most taxpayer safeguards), but on the hook for ALL COSTS.
Even if NJ’s wind farm is smaller with different regulations, I see no upside for either ratepayers or the environment. Here are excerpts from the following websites.
https://apnews.com/article/virginia-beach-climate-and-environment-796b1256c2bedee36abc258e46eaefc4
Published 2:16 PM PDT, August 5, 2022
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — State regulators on Friday approved an application from Dominion Energy Virginia to build an enormous offshore wind farm off the coast of Virginia Beach and recover the cost from ratepayers.
Regarding costs, the SCC (VA State Corporation Commission) order said that over the wind farm’s projected 35-year lifetime, including the construction and its 30-year projected useful life, a typical residential customer is expected to see an average monthly bill increase of $4.72, with a peak monthly bill increase of $14.22 in 2027.
“To be clear, total Project costs, including financing costs, less investment tax credits, are estimated to be approximately $21.5 billion on a Virginia-jurisdictional basis, assuming such costs are reasonable and prudent. And all of these costs … will find their way into ratepayers electric bills in some manner,” the order said.
Dominion said in a news release that because offshore wind turbines have no fuel costs, the project is expected to save Virginia customers more than $3 billion during its first 10 years of operation. [How?]
https://apnews.com/article/business-richmond-virginia-climate-and-environment-5ee03b8502c150223b65c153694bde13
Published 5:05 PM PDT, December 15, 2022
In its order, the commission (VA State Corporation Commission) also issued a warning about the impact the project will have on the electricity bills of Dominion’s captive electric utility customers.
“The magnitude of this project is so great that it will likely be the costliest project being undertaken by any regulated utility in the United States. And the electricity produced by this Project will be among the most expensive sources of power — on both a per kilowatt of firm capacity and a per megawatt-hour basis — in the entire United States,” the order said.
Wind Turbines in our oceans…are you kidding me? Why are we industrializing our greatest asset? Part of the trouble with climate alarmism is that it encourages short-term thinking around what is a long-term problem. I think radical decarbonization is possible but it is easier to imagine in a context that involves a significant expansion of nuclear energy and natural gas and the phase out of coal before the phase out of oil occurs. Please read Alex Epstein’s “The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels”. It is stellar.
For decades, environmentalists have told us that using fossil fuels is a self-destructive addiction that will destroy our planet. (I often think, “I don’t see in the data what you are telling me I’m supposed to see” – and I think, ” Why are thee brightest minds and scientists UNINVITED to the climate discussion?”) Censorship is NOT done by secure people.
Fossil fuels are a self-destructive addiction that will destroy our planet? HUH? By every measure of human well-being, from life expectancy to clean water to climate safety, life has been getting better and better. We are hearing only one side of the story. On that note – this big climate picture includes Globalists – or as I refer to them – Super Psychopaths. Their argument is NOT with fossil fuels – it is with nature and the real world. deep breath. sigh.
Enter Geoengineering aka Stratospheric Aerosol Injections and please steer away from the trigger word “chemtrails”. Googling chemtrails is a trap. I will save more on that topic for another piece.
The Myth: Fossil fuels are unsustainable, so we should strive to use “renewable” solar and wind.
The Truth: The sun and wind are INTERMITTENT, UNRELIABLE, fuels that always need backup from a reliable source of energy- USUALLY FOSSIL FUELS. There are huge amounts of fossil fuels left, and we have plenty of time to find something cheaper.
The Myth: Fossil fuels are hurting the developing world.
The Truth: Fossil fuels are the key to improving the quality of life for BILLIONS of people in the developing world. If we withhold them, access to clean water plummets, critical medical machines like incubators become impossible to operate, and life expectancy drops significantly.
Calls to get off fossil fuels are calls to degrade the lives of innocent people who want the same opportunities we enjoy in the West. So, what do we do? We don’t think that our voice matters-but it does. Contact your senators, congressmen, state reps – everyone! and share your concerns.
States are waking up Hoorah! :
-Tennessee passed Housebill 2013 and SB 2691 prohibiting Geo-engineering experiments 4.1.24
-Kentucky Senate Bill 217 introduced to prohibit Geo-engineering 2024 -companion legislation to Kentucky HB506 to prohibit Solar Radiation Management and Geoengineering
-Illinois SB 3095 Weather Modification Act introduced 2024
-New Hampshire HB 1700 introduced
-The Rhode Island Clean Air Act Preservation Act H 7295 2024
-South Dakota SB 215 introduced to prohibit weather engineering
-South Carolina HB 5390 amend bill relating to unlawful discharges of air contaminants whose purpose is to affect temperature, weather and sunlight intensity
THAT’S OUR DIRE CLIMATE CRISIS.
Please contact: americans4acleanatmosphere.com
and/or director@zerogeoengineering.com
🌼
LuLu,
Very well researched. Do you have any suggestions regarding recycling and how to remedy how messed up that has gotten? Is turning garbage into fuel like I hear they do in the Netherlands possible? Or is being wasteful part of mans DNA?
Thank you for your res and ched thoughts
Extremely disappointed in the county executive and commissioners. I will not be supporting or voting for any of them who do not take a firm position on stopping the industrialization of ocean. Beginning to doubt that they are Republicans at all. What good are they for letting us down in this major issue? Wake up!!!
“It is interesting to note that in Europe, 79% of new wind capacity last year was built onshore, not offshore.” Then let’s do this instead of ruining our ocean!
OFFSHORE WIND -A CATASTROPHE IN THE MAKING
If I hear one more time our “dire climate crisis”, “catastrophic climate change”, “the science is overwhelming”, ” climate denier”, “we’re warming at a rate of..”, “we have to get to net zero by…” “conspiracy theorist”, I’m gonna heave all over my flip-flops.
Please listen wise friends- the machine behind this climate fear is made up of powerful financial special interest groups, wall street, the gargantuan renewable energy elitists, politicians/lobbyists and global psychopaths-yes they exist -and they all want to make MONEY. and they are. Turbines are falling down all over the world. They are failing. China and India don’t want them. They want dependable, reliable energy. What is our hurry?
Are we trusting the governments to do the right thing for all of us now? I don’t know about you but after these last 4 years, I have Serious concerns on both sides of the political aisle. I’ve never seen so much fear, anger, distrust, mistrust, division, violence, hatred, upheaval, loss of the values that made our country great -(and yes it’s great-that’s why everyone wants to come here), and alarm- constant state of alarm that we are all going to perish if we don’t act immediately.
Who wants to be forced to rush into HUGE changes in a state of fear. Where is all the newspaper and television-news and general coverage and conversation from our brilliant scientists and environmentalists (see Richard Lindzen, William Happer, S. Fred Singer, Alex Epstein and Ronald Stein, Edward Ring- to name a few). Could it be that their thoughts differ from the narrative and so they are censored? Censorship is not done by secure people.
Michael Shellenberger (THE HILL) states, “There is a lot of powerful financial interest behind ‘climate’ alarmism, mostly the renewable energy, which is WREAKING HAVOC on natural environments”. It’s unconscionable.
On that note, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind has targeted the city of Atlantic City. They are going to plow through and wreak havoc through the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the 5th Ward of Atlantic City. Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind say they want to be “good stewards of our environment”.
Offshore Wind is disrupting residential neighborhoods, ballfields and soccer fields, surrounding a school, pulling up our streets and sidewalks, disrupting sleep, school and work schedules, uprooting trees, and going under our beach with massive cables with heavy electrical currents. That’s not good stewardship.
Dr. Heroux (McGill University), a specialist in Electromagnetism, states that “any emission from an AC power line is biologically hostile.” He goes on to state, “the health limits referred to in [Atlantic Shores EMF] documents for AC Magnetic Fields are worthless, as they were written by the industry to fall in line with their preferred practices.” this is how it works.
Atlantic Offshore Wind has a statement in their report entitled “Environmental Justice: A System of Fairness”. What is happening to our beloved city of Atlantic City is ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE AND A SYSTEM OF UNFAIRNESS TO POOR AND MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES. Where was Atlantic City’s 5th Ward Councilman Zia when the decision to run export cables from the offshore turbines, through our city’s (his 5th ward) marginalized communities, At home?
Is Atlantic City Council representing it’s citizens? Who is voting for you? Talk with your council people and find out how they are representing you.
Lastly, sigh, What are we doing to Our Ocean- our greatest asset? When you detonate massive explosives, repeatedly drive steel piles into the ocean floor with a hydraulic hammer, and blast high decibel sonar mapping signals underwater, you’re gonna harm animals that rely on sound to orient themselves in the ocean- our sea creatures. Do you think they will wash up on shore dead? well, yes they are. Please look at the recent Martha’s Vineyard tragedy.
Please look into the latest Dominion Energy and the Virginia beach Croatan residents and their nightmares surrounding the loud decibel and vibrations during the construction of their 176 Wind Turbines. And for what? Unreliabble energy that will take the grid down. well at least we will have dependable energy. right? Nope. They’re taking that away from us cause it’s bad for the environment. huh?
I will write about the deception behind our “dire climate crisis” soon. It is not what you may think. Ya gotta look behind the mainstream news narrative and decide for yourselves what makes sense. There is a lot of information out there on this.
Please Talk to your politicians that are supposed to represent you. Where do they stand and more importantly, how do they vote on the things you really care about? We are in this together.
💜