PETERSBURG – Upper Township Committee, at its regular meeting Jan. 23, introduced an ordinance that will amend its previously approved measure that created a redevelopment zone for the former coal-fired B.L. England generating station in Beesley’s Point.
The generating station, a landmark for those entering the county over the Great Egg Harbor Bridge, provided jobs, electricity, and tax benefits to the municipality of more than $6 million annually.
The new ordinance provides for a substation that will connect power generated by proposed offshore wind turbines located off the shoreline of Ocean City, named Ocean Wind 1, to the power grid at the site.
At the meeting, James Maley, introducing himself as special counsel for certain aspects of the redevelopment project, said, “I’d like to give a quick overview about provisions of this ordinance, which is purely a zoning ordinance for one specific area of the entire Beesley’s Point site. The ordinance puts zoning in place in an area termed ‘the coal pot,’ where PSEG (Public Service Enterprise Group) engineers will locate the electric substation. We can differentiate this area from the entire site designated for redevelopment, which still does not have specific plans or concepts and which direction may have some issues with committee.”
Municipal Engineer Paul Dietrich subsequently explained that the size of the area in question is 7.6 acres.
Maley continued that the provisions of the ordinance will be reviewed by the municipality’s Planning Board for consistency with the municipal Master Plan and the original redevelopment plan already in place, and that a second reading and public hearing of the amendment ordinance will be held Feb. 27.
At previous meetings, including several public briefings, representatives from the Danish company, Ørsted, which recently announced it would acquire PSEG’s 25% stake in Ocean Wind 1, giving the company 100% ownership of the project, explained that the lines will run under the beach in Ocean City, at 35th Street, and then continue underground through the island.
“Horizontal drilling” will be used to bring the lines under the beach segment and continue under the water channel separating Ocean City from Upper Township, near the 34th Street bridge.
Throughout the exploratory, discussion and preliminary implementation phases of the project, many citizens have voiced their strong opposition to the wind farm.
With the recent washing up of dead whales on local beaches, resistance is growing despite assurances by officials that preparatory offshore work is not related, only coincidental, to the deaths of the whales.
During the public comment portion of the Jan. 23 committee meeting, several residents expressed their firm negative opinions about the wind farm moving forward, citing the dead whale issue, visual and other pollution, and overall environmental concerns, noting that U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd) was actively supporting the opposition.
Thoughts? Questions? Contact the author, Camille Sailer, at csailer@cmcherald.com.
