The Biden administration has approved New Jersey's first offshore wind project, but the plan faces opposition and possible legal challenges from critics who say it will damage the state's famed coastline. [emphasis, links added]
Atlantic Coast South ProjectIt was approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior last week. Call for 200 towering wind turbines less than 9 miles from coast — Providing enough electricity to power more than 1 million homes.
It is the ninth offshore wind project President Joe Biden has approved as part of his aggressive effort to expand the green power industry.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and environmental groups applauded the plan's approval and said it would help reduce the state and nation's reliance on fossil fuel energy.
“By responsibly developing offshore wind facilities, we can protect our aquatic and coastal resources and the communities that rely on them, while taking bold action to address the climate crisis by reducing emissions from fossil fuel-dependent energy sources,” Shawn LaTourette, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said in a statement.
However, the plan faces resistance from Save Long Island Beachesa book arguing that towering turbines near the New Jersey coastline will harming marine life, the state's fisheries and tourism industries, and the local economy. It is expected to be challenged in court.
The evidence is clear. 86 #whale Died on the East Coast from December 2022 to present. unknown others #sealife The dead were either not found or washed up on the shore. https://t.co/A8eL9g8ndL
— SaveLBI (@saveLBIorg) February 20, 2024
“No other country in the world is considering a wind turbine project of this size and number within nine miles of its coastline,” Bob Stern, president and founder of the alliance, said in a statement.
“This project violates multiple regulations and must be stoppedwhich is why we challenged it in court.
He said taxpayer-subsidized green energy plans would bring Electricity bills have increased “significantly” across the state and will do “little to nothing” to mitigate sea level rise or climate change.
“This will not reduce future sea level rise at all, it will just delay it by about a week,” Stern said.
Combined with other planned wind projects further offshore, it would force East Coast commercial, military and fishing traffic into a narrow 11-mile-wide corridor, he said. “This creates safety concerns for ships and whales trying to migrate through the same corridor.”
Read the break from Just The News
