WEST LONG BRANCH – A new poll released by Monmouth University, Aug. 29, shows a decline in public support for the New Jersey offshore wind initiative pushed by Gov. Phil Murphy. A bare majority of New Jersey residents continue to favor the construction of offshore wind farms, but that support has declined steeply from where it stood when the state issued its Energy Master Plan in 2019.
In 2019, support for wind energy generated from offshore wind farms stood at 76%, with only 15% of those polled against it. Four years later, just over half of the respondents (54%) favor wind farm development, with now 40% opposed.
The Monmouth poll argues that the decline in support has largely been due to the issue becoming a partisan one. Republican support has plunged from 69% to 28% in the four-year period. Independents have moved from 77% to 52% in support of the initiative. Democratic support has held, with 79% support in 2019 to 76% now.
Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said, “There was a time when wind energy was not really a political issue,” adding, “That is no longer the case.”
The polling data argues that one influence on the changing opinions concerning offshore wind is the potential economic impact on the Jersey Shore. Forty percent of those polled said placing wind turbines off the Jersey coast will hurt tourism.
Interestingly, there is not a major difference on this issue based on a resident’s location in coastal counties (43%) or other areas of the state (38%). The difference is a partisan one. Fifty-three percent of Republicans say that wind farms off the coast will hurt tourism. Only 24% of Democrats express the same opinion. Independents come in at 41%.
A big failure for the Murphy administration is that much of the public has not accepted the prediction that wind energy development will be good for the state economy. Good jobs and leadership in an emerging green economy has been a major selling point for Murphy. The polling data suggests he has not convinced the public.
Just 22% of New Jerseyans say that the new industry will create a lot of jobs, 55% say few new jobs will result, and 15% doubt the industry will create any new jobs.
Sea mammal fatalities have also had their impact on the support for wind farms off the coast. Close to half of the population (45%) believes that offshore wind is definitely or probably contributing to sea mammal deaths. An equal number (45%) believe the wind energy projects have not or probably have not had a negative impact on sea mammal fatalities.
Again, the issue is highly partisan, with 63% of Republicans prepared to blame offshore wind development for the rise in sea mammal fatalities as against only 26% of Democrats.
Just this month, the Pew Research Center released results of national polling on Americans’ views on climate change. It presents a picture of support for renewable energy sources, including support for government policies that incentivize wind and solar energy production. According to Pew results, two-thirds of Americans prioritize the development of renewable energy sources and incentive programs.
The Pew results agree with the Monmouth data in that Pew also shows a growing partisan split on the issue. Pew shows 54% of Americans describing climate change as a major threat to the country, but that number is 78% for Democrats and only 23% for self-identified Republicans.
The Pew results argue that “perceptions are tied more strongly to people’s beliefs about climate change and this is linked increasingly to their partisan affiliation.”
How one reads the Monmouth poll results may vary greatly. One could stress that a majority of New Jerseyans still believe in the initiative to generate renewable energy from offshore wind farms or the stress can be placed on the decline in that number since 2019.
Either way, the result is a divided public on what the Murphy administration believes is a crucial effort to move the state quickly off of fossil fuels.
Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
