The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has revoked an air quality permit it had issued for the Atlantic Shores offshore wind project, set for lease areas off the coast of Long Beach Island and Atlantic City.
The anti-offshore wind group Save LBI had challenged the permit, saying the EPA had not conducted a comprehensive examination of the potential harm the project could do to air quality. The permit has been pulled back for further consideration.
Atlantic Shores received its final federal approvals in October 2024. Two wind projects were to be built in federal waters nine miles off the New Jersey coast. Plans called for up to 200 wind turbines, offshore substations and high-energy cables that would transmit the electricity to a grid interconnection point onshore.
Atlantic Shores became the early leader among New Jersey offshore wind projects after the Danish firm Orsted pulled out of its commitments for Ocean Wind I and II in October 2023.
Save LBI President Bob Stern said he believes the project is effectively stopped since it is no longer fully permitted. In addition to the opposition emanating from the Trump administration, the Atlantic Shores project has absorbed major body blows this year.
The project was a 50/50 split between Shell plc and EDF Renewables, an American subsidiary of the French utility EDF Group. On a fourth-quarter earnings call Jan. 30, Shell told analysts that the company was pausing its involvement in the project. The company said it would take a $956 million write-off.
Just weeks after the Shell pullout, EDF Group announced it was taking a 940 million euros write-down in the value of the project.
In a statement following the March 14 EPA decision, Atlantic Shores expressed its disappointment in the federal action.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
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