The Department of the Interior has officially endorsed the Atlantic Shores South offshore wind development, Save Jerseyans, the latest post-Orsted attempt to reboot the installation of wind turbine off of the coast of New Jersey.
“The Biden-Harris administration is building momentum every day for our clean energy future, and today’s milestone is yet another step toward our ambitious goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore energy by 2030,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “Our clean energy future is now a reality – thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda we are addressing climate change, fostering job growth, and promoting equitable economic opportunities for all communities.”
According to the Administration’s release:
“The Atlantic Shores South wind project consists of two wind energy facilities — Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Project 1 and 2 — and associated export cables, which are expected to generate up to 2,800 megawatts of electricity, enough to power close to one million homes with clean renewable energy. The project is approximately 8.7 miles offshore New Jersey at its closest point. To provide energy to New Jersey, Atlantic Shores South proposed up to 200 total wind turbine generators and up to ten offshore substations with subsea transmission cables potentially making landfall in Atlantic City and Sea Girt, New Jersey. BOEM has approved construction of up to 195 wind turbine generators.”
Rising costs aren’t persuading the Biden and Murphy Administrations to abandon their offshore wind designs. To the contrary, D.C. plans to move forward with a dozen additional lease sales over the next four years.
What about the whales and dolphins?
“On May 23, 2024, BOEM announced the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed project, which analyzed the potential environmental impacts of the activities outlined in the project’s construction and operations plan and considered reasonable alternatives. BOEM held four public meetings and a nation-to-nation consultation during the public comment period on the draft EIS to gather valuable feedback from Tribes, government agencies, ocean users, and others,” the release explains. “The feedback resulted in measures identified to avoid, minimize or mitigate the potential impacts of the project, including visual impacts and potential impacts to marine life and to existing ocean uses such as fishing. The Record of Decision describes these measures, which BOEM will require as terms and conditions of its approval of the Atlantic Shores South Construction and Operations Plan.”
BOEM has previously admitted to the high probability of offshore wind development’s negative impact on marine life.
