CREST HAVEN – U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd) and Cape May County Commissioner Director Leonard Desiderio announced, in a Feb. 9 county release, that they will work together to pursue answers to the deaths of whales since early December in the New York and New Jersey shore areas.
A contingent of elected officials from shore towns along the New Jersey coast have already called for a halt to offshore wind initiatives until the environmental impact of the preconstruction activity for the wind farms can be more definitively understood.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has said that there is no evidence that offshore wind survey activity is contributing to the sea mammal deaths. Desiderio says the agency protests too much.
“When we hear that no one knows why the whales are dying, but we know it is not from the windmill activity, we can’t help but be doubtful,” stated Desiderio, in the Feb. 9 release.
The lack of a definitive answer on the whale fatalities is not a reason to continue, but rather a sound reason to pause, the offshore activity, according to the commissioner director.
The offshore wind plans have been controversial since their inception, with several residents arguing that everything is moving too fast for proper analysis and consideration.
A dispute exists that may result in litigation arising from Ocean Wind I’s preferred route for its high-voltage transmission cables, which the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has already ruled can be brought across municipal beaches and streets in Ocean City en route to a grid connection at Beesley’s Point. The county’s objections pertaining to county land in that route are before the NJBPU now.
The controversy opens even more concerns since the NJBPU is approving the use of municipal land in direct opposition to the municipal governing body. The statute giving the NJBPU that authority may be challenged in court. Van Drew calls this state action “a terrible power grab,” in the Feb. 9 release.
Another matter of concern was the recent announcement by the Danish firm, Ørsted, that it would buy out the 25% stake in Ocean Wind I held by its American partner, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG). The move leaves the massive wind farm off the county’s northern coast solely in the hands of the Danish firm.
Desiderio says he would like to better understand what the “PSEG withdrawal means for the financial viability of the project.”
Van Drew, recently appointed vice chair of the U.S. House of Representative Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says the committee “will be conducting hearings on President Biden’s offshore wind plans.”
Van Drew raised the potential environmental impact of the plans, whether they will require “massive taxpayer subsidies,” and the need for a more definitive understanding that they will “have a positive impact on climate change.”
Desiderio invited Van Drew to bring a congressional hearing on the matter to Cape May County.
Desiderio said, “We are not anti-wind or anti-renewable energy, and there may be some positive economic aspects to the project, but before we acquiesce to the negative environmental impacts and watch the installation of windmills that we will see from our beaches for the next 30 years, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered.”
The response to date from those who support the offshore wind initiative has included a concern that the time is running out, as the impacts of climate change intensify on their own schedule.
Even before the first turbine has been constructed for Ocean Wind I, Gov. Phil Murphy added to the capacity goals of the project, moving the goal from 7,500 megawatts of energy to 11,000 megawatts.
Ørsted is also expected to submit its construction plan for Ocean Wind II in early 2023, which will start the expansion of the wind farm initiative further south along the county’s coast.
The whales have become central to a debate that would most likely be occurring if not even one of them had washed up on a New Jersey beach. The environmental threat posed by the initiative was argued prior to the first whale death in early December 2022.
The desire to have the wind farms further out to sea, so they would not be visible from shore is not new. Concerns about who will pay for what as this transition to renewable energy unfolds has worried opponents of the initiative.
Any joint effort by Van Drew and county officials will be welcomed by those in the county who are concerned about the whale fatalities and those who have issues with other aspects of the wind farm initiative. In the end, the Feb. 9 county release represents the latest round in an ongoing debate.
Thoughts? Questions? Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
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