MARMORA — Several dozen Upper Township residents gathered Nov. 21 at Marmora Volunteer Fire Company headquarters to get a close-up view of plans for the Ocean Wind 1 project planned off the coast.
Committeewoman Kim Hayes said Township Committee asked the project principles to “specifically talk about Upper Township and the impact for the project on Upper Township, and that is what we have here and I’m really happy about that.”
“It’s nice for the residents of Upper Township to have a chance to come and say — ‘What’s this look like from my back yard? What are the impacts going to be during construction? What are the impacts after construction?’ — without it being overshadowed by all of the things that are happening over there,” Hayes said, referring to Ocean City’s opposition to the project.
The proposal includes construction of as many as 98 wind turbines 15 miles off Cape May and Atlantic counties to generate 1,100 megawatts of power. Multiple other projects are also in various stages of development not only along the Jersey Shore but for a large area stretching from the northern coastal tip of North Carolina to just south of Massachusetts.
As part of the project known as Ocean Wind 1, a joint venture between Danish company Ørsted and PSEG, transmission cables would run under the beach and streets in Ocean City, along Roosevelt Boulevard to Upper Township and connect with a substation at the former B.L. England Generating Station in Beesleys Point.
“Our goal was to inform Upper Township residents about the cable route and substation construction plans in their area, and provide them with the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback,” read a statement from Ocean Wind. “As the first offshore wind project in New Jersey, we look forward to bringing renewable energy, good-paying jobs and economic investment to the Garden State.”
The substation would include two buildings on the site where the coal-fired plant operated for decades. B.L. England was a major factor in Upper Township for nearly 60 years as a source of jobs, electricity and funding, providing the township with energy tax receipts of more than $6 million a year for hosting the plant, making up a large portion of the $15.4 million annual budget.
The Beesleys Point Development Group bought the property, which is more than 350 acres, in November 2021. The sale, about four years in the making, cleared the way for a proposal that may lead to construction of a hotel, marina, restaurants, retail shops and homes.
On Sept. 29, Controlled Demolition Inc. conducted a two-stage implosion that brought the cooling tower down. Other structures on the site that will be removed include the smokestacks and oil-storage facilities.
At the firehouse, about a dozen tables were covered in maps, charts and other diagrams detailing the proposed cable routes, location of the substation and other information.
Jason Kalwa, who oversees the onshore facet of the project for PSEG, said a lot of the questions involved the short-term effects, such as how the project would affect individuals based on where they live.
Pete and Claire LoRe, who live next to the firehouse, said they were concerned how the project would affect taxes, air pollution and their electricity bill.
“I think it’s going to change Beesleys Point immensely,” Clair LoRe said. “Sure, it looks good on paper but that’s not reality.”
Asked what he learned, Pete LoRe said “it’s a done deal, and I’m glad I don’t live in Beesleys Point.”
Steve Fanelli of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters Pile Drivers & Divers, representing 750 members from central Pennsylvania to central New Jersey and south to Maryland and Washington, D.C., said the local is excited about the potential for work.
“We are prepared to send our members out to build this project and we are ready to do it safely,” the Petersburg resident said. “We are training in offshore water rescue right now.”
Fanelli anticipates “hundreds of jobs, if not more” associated with construction of the wind farm.
Jeremy Black, a Beesleys Point resident with two young children, was concerned with the long-term environmental impact as well as the short-term affect on children. He said his kids, ages 10 and 8, ride their bikes to Upper Township Primary School along Route 9, the route the cables will take en route to the substation.
“I’m just worried about anything the power lines are going to emit, and what it’s going to do to traffic,” Black said.
He also is concerned about the visual impact of the wind farm and the others expected to follow.
“I’m not happy with those sitting off the coast, if they are as big as they say they are going to be,” Black said. “There are other ways around it that you don’t have to have these monstrosities offshore.”
Fanelli dismissed concerns about the sight of wind turbines offshore but agreed the project is going to have a “huge” impact on the environment — in a positive way.
“I feel like the visual impact is going to be minimal and the environmental impact is going to be huge,” Fanelli said. “It’s going to be good for the environment. A lot of people have concerns about negative environmental impacts but I know for a certainty that we are ready to address any environmental concerns during construction.”
Liz Thomas of Thomas Boyd Communications, spokeswoman for Ocean Wind, said the forum “was successful in terms of the level of interaction between the residents and the subject matter experts,” but noted it’s still early in the process.
“The project is still in the permitting stages and we have a long way to go. There will be many more opportunities for meetings, for conversations, for public outreach, and we will continue to do this for as long as we need to to get the project up and running.”
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff