The Danish company Ørsted announced this week that it is canceling the development of its two major offshore wind projects in New Jersey, Ocean Wind I and II, blaming the poor state of the American economy under leftist President Joe Biden – a major proponent of green energy projects.
Ocean Wind I and II were extremely unpopular in New Jersey, prompting widespread protests and aggressive congressional opposition led by Jersey Shore lawmakers Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ). Local fishing industry professionals fear the gigantic wind turbine maritime territory leases would prevent them from living off of their own seas, kill off thriving fisheries, and destroy century-old traditions along the Shore.
“The commercial fishing is extremely upset with the visual observations of dead whales floating at sea,” Brick Wenzel, Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey’s, fishing liaison and a longtime commercial fisherman, told Breitbart News in March. “One vessel said they had seen 3 different whales in one trip. Another had parts of a whale come up in their net. Most of the captains are generational fishers and are in their 60s — no one has heard of or seen anything like the carnage being witnessed.”
Environmentalists noted a concurrent rise in the deaths of marine mammals, particularly local whales and dolphins, as Ørsted used sonar to map the ocean floor. As of October, the federal government has documented 66 whales stranded along the Atlantic Coast, including ten in New Jersey. New Jersey has documented another 45 dolphins washing ashore in 2023.
Federal agencies claimed no evidence linked the use of sonar in green energy projects and the documented surge in whale deaths, but New Jersey residents organized “Save the Whales” rallies in defiance of those assurances. A report by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) protected species expert Sean Hayes unearthed by Bloomberg News last year warning that offshore wind energy “will likely cause added stress that could result in additional population consequences” to right whales added to skepticism about the federal government’s assurances that offshore wind is environmentally safe.
Environmentalists gather during a ‘Save the Whales’ rally calling for a halt to offshore wind energy development along the Jersey Shore on February 19, 2023, in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. (Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress)
“In my 50+ years of working on the ocean, I have never seen anything remotely like this,” Robert Bogan, the captain of the Gambler recreational fishing vessel in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, said in a letter to Rep. Smith shared with Breitbart News in August. “Dead whales on our beach absolutely and logically have everything to do with the oceanic geo-surveys.”
Lawmakers and marine experts also warned that the operation of massive wind turbines offshore would interfere with critical national security and military operations, questioned if the turbines could survive major hurricanes such as Superstorm Sandy, and expressed unease with a foreign energy company controlling a significant share of the power grid in America’s most densely populated state.
Despite these concerns, New Jersey Democrats – led by Gov. Phil Murphy and backed by President Biden – enthusiastically supported and funded the Ørsted projects. The New Jersey Assembly went as far as greenlighting a plan to allow the Danish company to keep federal funds meant for state residents on the grounds that “the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine, starting a war that, in addition to causing a horrific loss of life and human suffering in Ukraine, has further exacerbated global market disruptions.”
The outsized public and financial support from Democrats was apparently not enough to get Ørsted to stay in New Jersey, as it cited a poor economic climate as the reason it will kill the project.
“Macroeconomic factors have changed dramatically over a short period of time, with high inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain bottlenecks impacting our long-term capital investments,” Ørsted Group EVP and CEO Americas David Hardy said in a statement on Tuesday. “As a result, we have no choice but to cease development of Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2.”
“We are extremely disappointed to have to take this decision, particularly because New Jersey is poised to be a U.S. and global hub for offshore wind energy,” Hardy added, thanking Murphy personally for his attempts to bring the project to life.
Ørsted’s corporate statement blamed “a vessel delay on Ocean Wind 1 that considerably impacted project timing” for having a particularly negative effect on both projects.
The cancellation of the project was not without preceding warning signs; in August Ørsted announced that it would delay completion of the project into 2026, again citing “higher interest rates” and “supply chain” issues. The company began preparatory work in October, however, on Ocean Wind I and planned to begin onshore construction at Island Beach State Park, one of New Jersey’s most beloved and well-preserved seaside destinations, that month. The company was planning to install underground cables at Island Beach connecting the wind turbines to the shore.
Island Beach State Park on the New Jersey shore (nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/parks)
New Jersey Republicans celebrated the death of the Ocean Wind projects this week warily, warning that other companies may propose similar environmentally dubious and economically unviable projects despite Ørsted’s failures.
“Offshore wind development will have a catastrophic impact on sea mammals including whales and dolphins, it will destroy commercial and recreational fishing, it will harm tourism,” Rep. Smith, a vocal opponent of the offshore wind projects, said in response to the cancelation, “and it will significantly weaken and degrade radar making ship navigation and piloting jets, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft incredibly dangerous. Offshore wind turbines are a serious threat to national security.”
Rep. Smith celebrated the end of Ocean Wind as “a victory for local residents, environmentalists, and NJ commercial and recreational fishermen who have worked alongside me and Congressman Jeff Van Drew to expose the dangers inherent in the massive ocean industrialization plans slated for the Jersey Shore.”
“It also marks a major failure for the Biden and Murphy Administrations who tried to push it through and throw billions of taxpayer dollars at the unsound, improperly vetted projects,” he added.
Rep. Van Drew similarly celebrated the “MASSIVE win” for New Jersey with the caveat that “we must continue to build on this momentum and see to it that the remaining projects off the coast of New Jersey meet the same fate.”
“These Green New Deal style wind farms were bad for our economy, our environment, and would have been a complete disaster for hardworking middle-class families in South Jersey,” Rep. Van Drew observed. “From the beginning, these projects were all about lining the pockets of foreign-owned offshore wind companies. Orsted repeatedly asked for additional taxpayer funds and tax breaks, while expecting ratepayers to absorb a massive increase in utility costs.”
Rep. Van Drew had expressed optimism that the projects would not move forward early this year, telling Breitbart News in March, “I’m hopeful that we can have a moratorium on this till we can really figure out what’s going on – and I’m hopeful, quite frankly, that on the East Coast, that we just prohibit and just won’t have it.”
“It’s something we don’t need. There’s nothing good about it,” he added at the time.
Some local officials in New Jersey were less measured in their celebrations of the demise of the Ocean Wind projects.
“Hell Yeah!!!!!! We did it!!!” Mayor Paul Kanitra of Point Pleasant Beach – which is in Rep. Smith’s district and hosted some of the largest protests against the project – wrote on his Facebook account on Tuesday.
“This should serve as the strongest of lessons why everyone needs to do their part when government insanity rears it’s ugly head!!!! Governor Murphy and Democrats in the legislature, now when can we expect our tax dollars back?” he added.
Hell Yeah!!!!!! We did it!!! Congratulations to each and every individual who had the spine and fortitude to speak up…
Posted by Mayor Paul Kanitra on Tuesday, October 31, 2023
The issue of what happens to the hundreds of millions Ørsted received for a project that no longer exists is one poised to become a headache for Gov. Murphy and the New Jersey Democrats. The governor suggested Ørsted could face legal trouble in New Jersey in a statement responding to the death of Ocean Wind, calling the cancellation “outrageous.”
“I have directed my Administration to review all legal rights and remedies and to take all necessary steps to ensure that Ørsted fully and immediately honors its obligations,” Gov. Murphy claimed.
According to Politico, the cancellation means Ørsted now owes New Jersey taxpayers $300 million, but it may find legal loopholes not to pay it back.
“Asked whether it believed it could keep the $100 million, the company said that is being evaluated,” Politico reported on Thursday. “[Another] $200 million, which is being held in escrow, has different terms, but there are also unanswered questions about how it can be used.”
CNBC reported on Wednesday that Ørsted is “taking a $4 billion impairment for the first nine months of the year” and “also set aside an additional provision of up to $1.55 billion” for contract cancellation fees. Ørsted still owns the maritime property it purchased by auction on which to build the wind turbines, so it will maintain a presence on the Jersey Shore unless it sells them.
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Zach Piller via Storyful
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