Citizens, council members fear harm from view of turbines on horizon
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – Ocean City Council has continued its barrage of opposition to Ørsted’s planned wind farm off the coast with one member noting most of the project is out of the hands of city officials and another suggesting groups come up with substantial funding to fight it.
As has become a regular occurrence at council meetings since late last year, council members have used their time to criticize the $1.6 billion project that proposes to bring as many as 99 wind turbines that are 853 feet tall to a plot in the ocean 15 miles off the coast. The project, which is expected to generate enough electricity to power 500,000 homes and businesses for 25 years, is still in the planning phase. That phase is expected to take at least two more years and include multiple rounds of public hearings.
The biggest fear expressed by council members is the fact the turbines would be visible on the horizon from the beach and beach-front properties in the resort. According to artist renderings from Ørsted, the Danish company behind the project, those turbines, also referred to as windmills, would be visible all along the southern New Jersey coast from north of Atlantic City to Stone Harbor.
One difference at the Feb. 25 meeting is that a number of local citizens joined the chorus during public comment, some saying they didn’t know much about the project, others wanting council to oppose it and opposing it themselves.
Susan Thoren of Wesley Avenue said she was adamantly opposed to the wind farm and would do anything to fight it. Her husband, Tom, said he wanted to know the role of the mayor and city council. (The mayor and council members have addressed this regularly at council meetings since late fall. Videos of the meetings are available on the city’s website ocnj.us.)
Kevin Spencer of West Avenue said he understood it is more of a state and federal issue but asked council and the administration to do whatever they could “to put an end to this. We love Ocean City. Don’t allow them to ruin our view.”
Karen McDonnell and her husband, John Ryan, of Simpson Avenue, said they have a lot of questions about the wind farm and tuned in to the council meeting to learn more. Referencing an earlier discussion about marijuana laws at the meeting (see related story), she thanked council for their “deep caring about this town.” She said she was overcome by how wonderful they were in their comments, which helped reveal why Ocean City “is truly such a wonderful place.”
Chelsea Rush of Woodbine Road in Upper Township said she attended an Upper Township Committee meeting where officials “seemed to be convinced they have no jurisdiction” over the wind farm. The former B.L. England generating plant in Beesleys Point is one potential location for connecting the wind farm to the power grid, needing electricity transmission cables through Ocean City. She strongly opposed the project and said she knew both Upper Township and Ocean City could have a part if Ørsted wanted to put cables through the communities.
Karen Larkin of Wesley Avenue invited council members to participate in a group opposing the wind farm. Her concerns included the farm’s impact on the fishing industry and environmental issues.
Responding to the comments, Third Ward Councilman Jody Levchuk said he was “1,000 percent to infinity against the wind farms.” A boardwalk businessman, he said his prime concern was the potential damage to Cape May County’s $7 billion economy, which he said has tripled and could triple again if people didn’t have to look “at 99 windmills on the horizon.”
Council President Bob Barr agreed with Levchuk.
Councilman Keith Hartzell cautioned that fighting the project is “Mount Everest. I’m not saying we can’t fight it, but we’re outgunned right now” by the billion-dollar business. He suggested citizens reach out to individual council members (their contact information is on the city’s website – ocnj.us) because they have had meetings with Ørsted and know about the project and its timeline.
“Everyone should be nervous and scared,” he said.
First Ward Councilman Michael DeVlieger, who has led the opposition to the wind farm, said a handful of groups are popping up opposing it. He said a group fighting a wind farm in another area spent $40 million to block it. “Someone is going to have to rise up and be well funded to stop this,” he said. “If we don’t it will be 25 years before we have a choice again.”
As an aside, he took issue with a trio of letters to the editor in the Ocean City Sentinel in the Feb. 24 edition that supported the wind farm.
He said he found that “humorous” and “comical” that a media organization (he didn’t name the Sentinel specifically) had three positive reviews about the wind farm’s potential because over the past few months of him speaking out against Ørsted he has only had four people speaking to him in favor of the project. “Hopefully there is some balance out there,” he said.
Editor’s note: the Ocean City Sentinel prints letters to the editor in the order it receives them. Those three letters were received in the week and a half prior to the Feb. 24 edition. A letter to the editor that was received last week opposing the project is in this week’s edition of the Sentinel. The Sentinel has always invited opposing opinions in letters and guest columns on its editorial pages.