WILDWOOD — Billed as a “hearing on offshore wind industrialization along the East Coast,” an event March 16 at the Wildwoods Convention Center included Congress members from two states, environmental organizations and representatives of the commercial fishing industry all speaking out against wind farm projects planned off the coast.
U.S. Rep. Van Drew (R-2nd) called it the launch of a congressional investigation into offshore wind aimed at developing a comprehensive legislative solution for what he characterized as the disruptive effects of offshore wind.
“If offshore wind industrialization moves forward, it will be the most profound transformation of the Atlantic coast in the history of the United States of America,” said Van Drew, who long represented the region as a Democrat in local, county and state offices.
Developers want to build thousands of “Eiffel Tower-sized turbines” that will line the horizon for decades, Van Drew said, adding that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has engaged in a rushed and sloppy approval process.
“The truth is our government is acting more in the interest of the rich and powerful than the interest of the people of America,” he said.
The dentist said neither the federal government nor the wind turbine companies have been responsive to the local community. He said Ørsted, the Danish wind-energy company behind the Ocean Wind 1 project, rejected an invitation to participate in the event.
The wind projects are a case of big government joining with big companies, “colluding together,” Van Drew said.
Ørsted did not interact with local communities or members of the fishing and tourism industries, he said.
Van Drew said Congress must step in because offshore wind companies, the administration of President Joe Biden and that of Gov. Phil Murphy refused to share the facts with the American people.
He said the wind project area is massive and that nearly 2 million acres have been leased in the Atlantic Ocean. He said the projects would require hundreds of miles of seafloor dredging to bury power transmission cables.
Van Drew called the projects a wealth transfer from American taxpayers and rate payers into the pockets of wealthy energy industrialists “who aren’t even in America.”
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th) said driving piles into the seabed would generate catastrophic noise levels for sea life during the construction phase. He also said the turbines would fall like dominos during a Category 3 or stronger hurricane.
Radar used by the U.S. Coast Guard would be compromised by the wind turbines, Smith said, adding a 2022 report from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine stated the towers would interfere with marine vessel radar.
Smith said he introduced legislation to get the General Accountability Office to produce an overview of how poorly environmental reviews have been conducted for the wind projects.
Attendance was limited to 400 persons due to fire safety rules, which led to chants of “let us in” from the lobby from those who were not admitted to the meeting room.
Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, said her organization is open to the idea of some offshore wind but only if a pilot program proved successful and the science was available to support industrial-scale power plants while protecting the ocean.
She said according to the National Marine Fisheries Service, by 2030, offshore wind coverage would involve 3,400 turbines requiring 10,000 miles of cable.
“This is too much, too fast and, in a word, simply reckless,” Zipf said. “Marine life is being placed at great risk without scientific due diligence, monitoring and protection to ensure the ocean survives this massive industrialization.”
Since December 2022, 12 whales have washed up on beaches in New Jersey and New York, she said. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, offshore wind can increase ocean noise, affecting the behavior of fish, whales and other species; introduce electromagnetic fields that affect navigation, predator detection, communication and the ability for fish and shellfish to find mates, Zipf said.
Bob Stern, former director of the Office of Environmental Compliance at the U.S. Department of Energy and current president of Save LBI (Long Beach Island), questioned if five to six survey vessels used by the wind project using high-intensity noise were contributing to the strandings of whales.
He said Save LBI hired an acoustic engineer who projected the noise from operating offshore wind turbines would extend 93 miles. Information from the manufacturer of the Vesta 236 turbine indicates the noise level at the source would be 118 decibels, Stern said.
Daniel LaVecchia, owner of LaMonica Fine Foods, said his family’s fishing and processing operation has been in business for three generations. He said the clamming industry made it clear to state agencies and offshore wind developers that vessels operating bottom dredges require a minimum distance of two nautical miles between the vertical structures of the turbines.
“With total disregard for our recommendation to the construction and operation plans for wind energy areas, today are all following in template where wind turbines are one nautical mile apart or less,” LaVecchia said. “If the wind energy areas are built as stated, clam vessels will certainly be excluded from these sustainable and historical clamming grounds.”
A 100-square-nautical-mile area off Atlantic City represents the most productive clamming grounds in the Mid-Atlantic region. He said when BOEM leased that area to wind developers, there was no consideration of the commercial fishing industry.
Meghan Lapp, fisheries liaison of Seafreeze Limited, a frozen-seafood company, said she reviewed a BOEM analysis on a wind project that stated there would be no effects from pile driving 95 turbines and trenching 300 miles of cables into the ocean floor.
“The reality is that nobody in the U.S. government is at the helm, actually, critically regulating any of this activity,” she said.
In reality and in practice, the offshore wind developers are in charge, Lapp said.
Van Drew said a document he had obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showed the lead biologist for BOEM warned of long-term impacts to right whales from wind turbines.
Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania asked if the state has moved to halt the survey work until it can determine the cause of the whale deaths.
Michael Donohue, current special counsel for Cape May County wind energy issues, said dozens of elected officials have made that request.
“What we’re told is ‘we don’t know why there are more vessel strikes and more whales washing up dead on the beach but we know with absolute certainty it has nothing to do with the wind farms,’” he said.
By JACK FICHTER/Sentinel staff
