If construction plan gets OK, work could begin in the fall in Ocean City and Upper Township
OCEAN CITY — A few months ago, as protests from citizens groups and local governments were ongoing, Ocean Wind 1 representatives predicted federal approval of the wind farm — off the coast of Atlantic and Cape May counties — would come in the middle of summer so work could begin on land locally this fall.
That approval came through Wednesday, July 5.
The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) granted the state’s first offshore wind project its Record of Decision, which Ocean Wind officials called a major milestone in the federal environmental review process.
What is needed next is approval on a Construction and Operations Plan (COP) to build the wind farm with as many as 98 massive turbines 15 miles off the coast and connect them with transmission lines running through Ocean City to Upper Township, where they would connect with the power grid in Beesleys Point at the site of the former B.L. England Generating Station.
The offshore work is expected to begin in 2024.
“Ocean Wind 1 is on the cusp of making history as construction on New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm is set to begin in a few short months, delivering on the promise of good-paying jobs, local investment and clean energy,” David Hardy, Group EVP and CEO Americas at Ørsted, said in a news release announcing the ROD. Ørsted is the Danish company behind the project.
“We thank those at the federal level, Secretary Haaland, Director Klein and the team at BOEM, and of course, our partners at the state of New Jersey, Gov. Murphy, Commissioner LaTourette, President Fiordaliso and staff at the Board of Public Utilities, Tim Sullivan and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and members of the N.J. Legislature, past and present, for their leadership and commitment to bringing offshore wind to the Garden State.”
Gov. Phil Murphy, a major proponent of wind farms off the coast to produce renewable energy for the state, weighed in as well.
“The announcement of Ocean Wind 1’s Record of Decision today represents a pivotal inflection point not just for Ørsted, but for New Jersey’s nation-leading offshore wind industry as a whole,” Murphy said. “By preparing to begin onshore construction this fall, Ocean Wind 1 will help bring New Jersey one crucial step closer to achieving a 100 percent clean energy economy by 2035 and 11,000 MW of offshore wind power by 2040.
“Just as importantly, as we continue to cultivate burgeoning new industries while confronting the worsening climate crisis, our state’s first offshore wind project will generate thousands of good-paying union jobs and considerable environmental benefits for generations to come.”
Opposition continues
The Record of Decision comes just weeks after citizens groups announced they were ramping up the fight against Ocean Wind 1 and other wind farm projects, fearing they will harm the tourism economy as hundreds of wind turbines are visible on the horizon, some less than 10 miles from the barrier island communities. They also believe the projects will kill endangered North Atlantic right whales and other marine mammals, hamper commercial fishing and harm property values along the coast, among other concerns.
To that end, three citizens groups — Protect Our Coast NJ Inc., Defend Brigantine Beach Inc. and Save Long Beach Island Inc. — filed a 52-page suit in Superior Court in New Jersey challenging the state Department of Environmental Protection’s approval of the Ocean Wind 1 project. Named as a co-defendant is Ocean Wind LLC, Ørsted’s U.S. subsidiary.
“DEP has acknowledged the wind turbines will destroy marine habitat, compress the seafloor, severely damage marine communities, compromise migration corridors for endangered marine mammals, cause commercial fishing stocks to decline and injure the beach economy,” said Bruce I. Afran, attorney for the groups. “Yet, the state persists in the bizarre belief that this massive engineering project will not injure our state’s coastal zone, one of the most important marine communities on the East Coast and the core of New Jersey’s $47 billion tourist industry.”
Ocean City officials were continuing to fight the approval, by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, for rights of way across the island for the transmission cables. The state Legislature, with Gov. Murphy’s signature, took away home rule over decisions on rights of way for projects such as wind farms to keep municipalities and counties from getting in the way.
Simultaneously, Cape May County Board of County Commissioners hired two “powerful and experienced law firms” to fight offshore wind farms.
One firm will review federal permits being sought by Ørsted and will recommend to the county any potential legal challenges that may arise from the federal permit processes, according to the commissioners, and another will review and challenge the permits issued to Ørsted by the NJDEP.
In May, the county commissioners announced their formal opposition to the project, saying research shows the project could lead to a 15 percent decrease in tourism, equating to a loss of $1.11 billion in revenue and nearly 6,000 tourism-related jobs.
When BOEM released its Final Environmental Impact Statement on Ocean Wind 1 in May, it anticipated effects from that project and cumulative effects of other projects off the coast that ranged from negligible to major on fisheries, commercial and recreational fishing, navigation, whales and other mammals, tourism and visual impact.
There are multiple wind farms in various stages, from proposed to working through the regulatory process. Ørsted has already proposed Ocean Wind 2 with as many as 111 wind turbines that would be adjacent to Ocean Wind 1. Just to the north of both are Atlantic Shores South and Atlantic Shores North with a combined 352 turbines.
Jobs, jobs, jobs
Some of the strongest proponents of wind farms have been trade unions, which are expecting the creation of high-paying jobs.
Multiple union representatives came to speak at the first major public forum held at the Ocean City Music Pier in November 2021. At that roughly three-hour meeting, which included questions and answers from nearly a dozen Ørsted officials, people lined up to offer their concerns and criticisms.
Most of the proponents touted job creation. Those same officials offered their support in the release about the Record of Decision.
“The news of BOEM’s issuance of its Record of Decision relating to Ocean Wind 1 is great news that is well-received by our leadership, but more importantly by the 150,000 members of New Jersey’s building trades community,” said William T. Mullen, president of the New Jersey State Building and Construction Trades Council. “New Jersey’s trades men and women have trained long and hard in anticipation of this decision that allows Ocean Wind 1 to move ahead with its onshore construction plans that will provide well-paying jobs today and into the future.”
“The announcement of BOEM’s Record of Decision regarding Ocean Wind 1 is exciting news and organized labor recognizes the immense value this project holds in regard to job creation and economic development,” said Charles Wowkanech, president of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO. “This decision paves the way for Ocean Wind 1 to proceed with its onshore construction plans, unlocking job opportunities that will support our highly skilled workforce and their families.”
Environmental split
Environmental groups have been split over offshore wind projects, with some believing the biggest danger to marine life and sea level rise is inaction, allowing fossil fuel-driven power generating stations to continue to impact global warming. They continue to push to get renewable energy through offshore wind.
Others have argued that before what they call the “industrialization of the ocean” to begin on a massive scale, there should be a small test project to determine the effects on marine life and the environment. Some also question the “clean” designation of wind farms because of the elements that need to be mined to build them, what to do with massive wind turbine blades that can’t be recycled and must be put into landfills, and the danger from the possible spills of thousands of gallons of lubricants used in the turbines.
Ocean Wind: Our plan, schedule
Ocean Wind 1 expects the COP, which details the construction, operation, maintenance and eventual decommissioning of the wind farm, to come in September. That plan includes “proposed measures to avoid, minimize and mitigate potential impacts from the project.”
The company outlined what’s to come.
It is going to move from the development and permitting phase to the construction phase, the early steps of which will include the underground transmission lines that are expected to run beneath the 35th Street beach in Ocean City and under streets out to Roosevelt Boulevard to Upper Township, head north along Route 9 to Beesleys Point, where a substation will be built.
Monopiles — which would be embedded deep in the sea floor and then rise hundreds of feet to allow for the sweep of the blades attached to the GE Haliade-X wind turbines — are being welded, sandblasted and painted at EEW American Offshore Structures’ facility at the Port of Paulsboro, which the company says is the first monopile fabrication facility in the U.S. Ørsted said it “has made significant investments in the facility as part of its commitment to building a local, American offshore wind supply chain.”
Offshore installation of those monopiles and wind turbines is expected to begin in 2024.
Ørsted is partnering with Rowan University to recruit New Jersey residents for a paid training program to become wind turbine technicians.
The 1,100 MW project will generate enough electricity to power 500,000 homes starting in 2025.
Tax credit for Ørsted
On Thursday, July 6, at the Paulsboro facility, Gov. Murphy signed a bill to give Ørsted federal tax credits to help ensure manufacturing remains in New Jersey after New York offered that incentive to do the work in the Empire State and the Maryland governor wants a facility there.
Those tax credits would have otherwise gone to New Jersey ratepayers.
Steve Sweeney, who pushed to get the monopile plant in Paulsburo while he was Senate president, had advocated for the tax break. He now chairs the Sweeney Center for Public Policy’s advisory board at Rowan.
“It is appropriate that Gov. Murphy chose to sign the tax credit bill at the EEW AOS plant in Paulsboro because investments like this ensure that offshore wind farms up and down the Atlantic Seaboard will be built with components manufactured by New Jersey workers and shipped out of New Jersey ports,” Sweeney said.
Also while Senate president, Sweeney pushed the legislation that took away home rule for communities including Ocean City.
Editor’s note: The Sentinel has been following the Ocean Wind 1 project since 2019. Stories can be found on the newspaper’s website, ocnjsentinel.com. To learn more about the project, visit Ørsted’s website, oceanwindone.com. To learn more about the civic groups who are against the project, go online to protectourcoastnj.com.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff