Commercial fishermen have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. They fear offshore wind farms will make things worse.
New England anglers have been fighting against offshore wind farms for years.
New Jersey Wind Farm opposition just getting started.
Orsted is a power company based in Fredericia, Denmark. They want to erect a forest of wind turbines along the South Jersey coast. Government subsidies play a major role in this proposed project.
From Global Warming Policy Forum:
OFFSHORE WIND FIASCO: RENEWABLES INDUSTRY FACES $BILLIONS IN COMPENSATION FOR EARLY REPAIRS
In 2018, Ørsted was in danger of having to repair the blades of offshore wind turbines. The leading edge of the blades have become worn down after just a few years at sea.
BLOOMBERG: Orsted’s contract will be for $98.10 per megawatt-hour, according to the Board of Public Utilities. That’s triple the average wholesale power cost in the region.
New Jersey residential customers will see their monthly bill increase. Public subsidy for this experimental effort. The contract requires utilities to buy power from the wind farm. Without inflated prices and taxpayer subsidy, the industry still struggle to get off the ground.
New Jersey’s contract is higher than the $65 per megawatt-hour that Massachusetts agreed to pay for its first offshore wind agreement.
Orsted Education or Indoctrination? Watch Video:
Windfarms will take up large areas of coastal, New Jersey waters.
Erecting and operating wind turbines in the ocean remains an expensive way to generate electricity.
Risks Associated with Production of Wind Energy
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, as many as 1,300 eagles, falcons, hawks and other predatory species are killed each year because the wind turbines were constructed along a critical migration route.
Orsted was picked to develop a 1,100-megawatt wind project just off the beaches of Atlantic City. Their Ocean Wind project could start in the early 2020’s. That’s if the financial sweeteners, are sweet enough. NJ taxpayers will subsidize the project.
Will the federal government OK the green initiative? The Fed has delayed the Rhode Island area expansion of offshore wind turbines. Fed withholding OK until additional impact studies can be studied.
CHALLENGES OF WIND POWER
- Wind power must still compete with conventional generation sources on a cost basis. Depending on how energetic a wind site is, the wind farm might not be cost competitive. Even though the cost of wind power has decreased dramatically in the past 10 years, the technology requires a higher initial investment than fossil-fueled generators.
- Good wind sites are often located in remote locations, far from cities where the electricity is needed. Transmission lines must be built to bring the electricity from the wind farm to the city.
- Wind resource development might not be the most profitable use of the land. Land suitable for wind-turbine installation must compete with alternative uses for the land, which might be more highly valued than electricity generation.
- Turbines might cause noise and aesthetic pollution. Although wind power plants have relatively little impact on the environment compared to conventional power plants, concern exists over the noise produced by the turbine blades and visual impacts to the landscape.
- Turbine blades could damage local wildlife. Birds have been killed by flying into spinning turbine blades. Most of these problems have been resolved or greatly reduced through technological development or by properly siting wind plants.
Why not build them in the swamps between the mainland and the island. No one lives there, they already exist in AC and it doesn’t seem to be an issue. I’m sure the 3 Amigos in Margate will come up with a way to steal money from this project!