Tag Archives: New Jersey
Not Ready to Get Hosed: New Jersey Offshore Wind ‘energy boondoggle’ faces fierce criticism from residents
While the Biden administration and other environmental activist groups boast that the Atlantic Shores South project, nearly nine years in the making, is another milestone in the country’s harvesting of green energy, a former U.S. Department of Energy engineer raises alarm bells that not only is this project detrimental to tourism, the ocean’s ecosystem, but it will actually raise energy costs to as high as 80% over the next 20 years. The company behind the project, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC (Atlantic Shores), holds three different leases totaling more than 400 square miles with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. There are plans for two separate projects with two lease areas located off the Jersey Shore between Atlantic City and Barnegat Light and the third lease located in an area of the Atlantic Ocean known as the Bight. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:45
Biden Admin Approves New Jersey’s First Offshore Wind Project Amid Growing Local Pushback
The Atlantic Shores South project, given a green light by the U.S. Department of the Interior last week, calls for installing 200 towering wind turbines less than nine miles off the coast — providing enough electricity to power more than 1 million homes. It’s the ninth offshore wind project approved by President Joe Biden as part of his efforts to expand the green power industry aggressively. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and environmental groups praised the project’s approval, saying it will help reduce the state and nation’s reliance on fossil fuel energy sources. “Through the responsible development of offshore wind facilities, we can protect our aquatic and coastal resources and the communities who rely upon 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. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:06
Coalition Responds to Federal Agency Decision Approving the Atlantic Shores South Offshore Wind Project
Save Long Beach Island, the coalition of citizens dedicated to protecting our oceans and New Jersey Shore communities, on July 3, 2024 denounced a federal agency’s decision to approve the Atlantic Shores South project as misguided and vowed to continue its fight against the destructive impact of placing hundreds of wind turbines in the ocean in close proximity to Long Beach Island (LBI) and other shore communities. “The project approved yesterday by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for the construction of up to 195 Wind Turbine Generators and up to 10 Offshore Substations’ off the southern coast of New Jersey is an aberration, no other country in the world is considering a wind turbine project of this turbine size and number within 9 miles off their coastline,” said Bob Stern, president and founder of Save LBI. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:50
NJ record lobster caught by Ocean County diver July 4; no one will ever beat that record
While you’re sitting around the grill this July 4 holiday, raise a glass to William Sharp, who caught the mother of all New Jersey lobsters on this day in 2003. He was diving on the sunken remains of the Almirante, an old banana boat that everyone knows as the “flour wreck,” which is a story unto itself. The 378-foot freighter belonged to the United Fruit Co. and was steaming from New York City to Colon, Panama, with a full cargo hold. It was under one of those twisted, steel plates that Sharp, a retired Navy shipyard worker, had his standoff with what would turn out to be a New Jersey state record lobster. With the water cloudy with floating sand particles, Sharp won his tug of water and surfaced with the biggest lobster ever caught by a diver in New Jersey waters since the state started keeping records. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:41
A fishing boat captain and two deckhands died in a disastrous Oregon bar crossing. Could it have been prevented?
Joshua Porter got dressed for his job around 4 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2019, sat down at the end of the bed, buried his face in his hands and told his longtime partner he didn’t want to go. He was scared. A storm was brewing off the Oregon coast, where the Mary B II would be competing with dozens of other fishing boats in the first days of the Dungeness crab fishing season. In the handful of days he had worked on the Mary B II, Porter had become concerned. The 50-year-old captain, Stephen Biernacki, new to the Pacific Northwest’s waters, repeatedly refused advice from experienced sailors, had once ran his boat aground and seemed to be unfamiliar with the most elementary aspects of fishing for crab. “Well, why are you going?” Denise Barrett Ramirez, standing in the bedroom doorway of their Toledo home, asked him that morning. “Got bills to pay,” Porter replied. “I have to go.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:44
Biden’s Policies Threaten Small Lobster Fishers and Right Whales
While lobstermen likely haven’t been contributing to NARW deaths, it is undisputed that vessel strikes, both in U.S. and foreign waters, have. Which brings us to the Biden administration’s decision to construct thousands of offshore wind turbines smack-dab in the middle of the whale’s migration route and habitat. Biden’s East Coast offshore wind initiative could qualify as an extinction level event for the North Atlantic right whale. Despite this, the Biden administration plans to build 30,000 megawatts of traditional offshore wind facilities (with structures attached to the ocean floor) in federal waters by 2030, and an additional 15,000 megawatts of floating industrial offshore wind power by 2035. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:31
Editor’s Log: Mitigate This! by Jim Hutchinson, Jr.
Last month I received notification from the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) of a fisheries compensation fund deadline for financial losses stemming from construction of the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm about 13 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, MA. MAFMC clearly recognizes that the construction of a large-scale offshore wind site like Vineyard Wind 1 will result in “financial losses” in the fishing community, yet the only members of the fishing industry eligible to receive compensation apparently are “commercial fishing vessel owners/operators.” Sounds like anglers should keep any eye out while watching late-night television for the best personal injury lawyer able to secure the future compensation we deserve! “The Program was created to provide compensation to commercial fishing vessels/operators for economic losses attributable to construction, operation, and decommissioning activities of Vineyard Wind 1,” the MAFMC notice stated. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:30
The Mayday Call: How One Death at Sea Transformed a Fishing Fleet
About 40 miles east-southeast of Barnegat Light, N.J., the Jersey Pride, a 116-foot fishing vessel with a distinctive royal blue hull, was towing a harvesting dredge through clam beds 20 fathoms down when its crew found a deckhand unresponsive in a bunk. The captain suspected an overdose. After trying to revive the man, he rushed to the radio. “Yes, Coast Guard, uh, I just tried to wake a guy up and he’s got black blood in his nose,” he said, sounding short of breath on Channel 16, “I got guys working on him. Come in.” About 17 miles to the Jersey Pride’s southeast, the fishing vessel Karen Nicole was hauling back its two scallop dredges and preparing to swing aboard its catch. Mate Hollis Nevells listened to the conversation crackling over a wheelhouse radio. Nevells had lost a brother-in-law and about 15 peers to fatal overdoses. When the Jersey Pride’s captain broadcast details of his imperiled deckhand. “His last name is Murphy,” he said. Nevells understood what he heard in human terms. That’s someone’s son or brother, he thought. more,>>CLICK TO READ<< 17:08
Letter: No. 1 Concern Is Offshore Wind Impact on Ocean
I am the fourth generation of residents, homeowners, business owners and taxpayers on Long Beach Island, as well as the granddaughter of a commercial fisherman and scalloper out of Barnegat Light. I take offense when someone says I have a case of the NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard). This is the country’s entire coastal backyard. I am not opposed to “green” energy or for fossil fuels. I am against the destruction of our ocean. Period. The amount of resources the world receives from the ocean is immeasurable. I am not concerned with the view or real estate, tourism and the rest. Of course, all of that will be colossally impacted. My main concern is with the destruction of one of the world’s most precious resources, our ocean. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:43
Would offshore wind turbines save or ruin the Jersey Shore? Debaters rumble in Berkeley
Police officers filled Central Regional High School on Tuesday night, where tensions ran high as critics and proponents of electricity generated by offshore wind faced off with impassioned speeches during a hearing held by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Capt. Ed Baxter, a scalloper who docks at Point Pleasant Beach, said dredging to bury the power cables outside of important fishing areas, such as the Manasquan Inlet and Shark River, would have serious impacts on commercial fishermen. Rose Willis, a member of the Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative of Point Pleasant Beach, said that not only would local commercial fishing companies be affected by the offshore wind project, but also many small businesses that service or buy from their industry. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:14
Wind farm opponents vow to ‘stay in the fight’
Opponents of offshore wind energy farms warned during a rally Saturday in Ocean City that the legal battle is far from over in their efforts to prevent what they called the “industrialization of our ocean.” Last year, the Danish energy company Orsted scrapped plans to build two wind farms off the South Jersey coast after concluding that the projects would not be worth the enormous development cost. However, opponents stressed during the rally that Orsted still holds the leases giving it rights to build the wind farms and could either revive them or sell them to another company that would develop the projects. “It’s not over. Stay in the fight,” said former Superior Court Judge Michael Donohue, who has headed Cape May County’s legal strategy to block the wind farms. photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:04
Vineyard Wind 1 Fisheries Compensation Program Application Deadline Approaching
This notice is a reminder to commercial fishermen that the eligibility period to apply for the Vineyard Wind 1 Fisheries Compensatory Mitigation Program ends on June 3, 2024. Commercial fishing vessel owners/operators must submit an online application prior to the June 3, 2024, deadline, to be considered for eligibility. The program is open to commercial fishing vessel owners/lessees in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island who can demonstrate historical fishing activities in the lease area, OCS-A 0501, which is south of Martha’s Vineyard. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:00
Wind Farm Opponents to Host Rally in Ocean City
Opponents of offshore wind farms are holding a rally Saturday to continue their fight against what they believe could harm the environment, the tourism industry, commercial fishing operations and marine life. The second annual “Stop Offshore Wind” rally will begin at 9:30 a.m. in Mark Soifer Park, across from City Hall in Ocean City. The rally will proceed with a march across the Route 52 causeway bridge connecting Ocean City and Somers Point. Danish wind farm developer Orsted announced on Oct. 31 that it was halting its Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 projects. Representatives of the company maintained that it wouldn’t be financially feasible to do the projects. In a rally flyer advertising Saturday’s event, opponents cautioned that they must continue to speak up against wind farms with the words, “The fight is not over,” despite Orsted withdrawing from the local project. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:28
See which 8 NJ towns filed new lawsuits to stop offshore wind developer
Eight Jersey Shore municipalities petitioned the court this week in a new attempt to stop offshore wind developers from moving forward with power projects along the New Jersey coast. Attorneys from the law firm of Pashman Stein Walder Hayden filed two appeals and one motion this week targeting the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s approval of part of the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind project. The law firm represents Long Beach Township, Beach Haven, Ship Bottom, Barnegat Light, Surf City, Harvey Cedars, Brigantine Beach and Ventnor City. Last month, the state department granted a consistency certification to a portion of Atlantic Shores’ project, which will build as many as 200 wind power turbines nearly 9 miles off Long Beach Island. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:01
Trump Vows ‘Day One’ Executive Order Targeting Offshore Wind
Donald Trump vowed to issue an executive order targeting offshore wind development if he wins a second term as president, making his most explicit threat yet toward the growing industry. The presumptive Republican nominee derided offshore wind projects as lethal for birds and whales during his oceanfront rally Saturday in Wildwood, New Jersey, and committed to take action. “We are going to make sure that that ends on day one,” he said. “I’m going to write it out in an executive order.” While Trump has made no secret of his animus to wind power, he had adopted a mostly hands-off posture during his first term in the White House. The remarks in New Jersey suggest he may take a more aggressive stance if given a second. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:03
Trump Presidency Is Next Worry for Battered US Wind Sector
Companies racing to build multibillion-dollar wind farms in US waters are already contending with surging borrowing costs, supply-chain woes and project pullbacks. Now, they’ve got a new worry: Donald Trump. The former US president and presumptive Republican nominee has made no secret of his animus toward wind energy, whether on- or offshore. He famously battled a project within view of his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland, and has derided wind farms as bird-killing monstrosities. But he has recently ramped up his rhetoric, telling attendees at a Florida fundraiser last month that he hates wind farms, according to people familiar with the matter. Renewable developers are bracing for more attacks Saturday, when Trump will hold a rally on the beach in Wildwood, New Jersey — a state that’s become the front line for fights over the future of offshore wind. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:34
Offshore Wind Opponents Sue NJDEP Over Planned Project
A local grassroots organization opposed to the current offshore wind farm planned off the coast of Long Beach Island is among three groups to sue the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection over its approval of the Atlantic Shores project. Save LBI is joined by Protect Our Coast New Jersey and Defend Brigantine Beach, said Bruce Afran, who is the attorney of record in the legal proceeding. “DEP’s approval flies in the face of federal regulators’ environmental impact statement that says the Atlantic Shores project will damage marine habitat, compress and harden the seafloor, damage marine communities, compromise migration corridors for endangered species and cause commercial fishing stocks to decline,” he said. The DEP has 30 days to respond under court rules, and briefs are expected to be filed by October with argument on the appeal in March or April 2025, according to a statement issued last week by Save LBI, Defend Brigantine Beach and Protect Our Coast New Jersey. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:08
Three groups are suing New Jersey to block an offshore wind farm
Three anti-wind power groups are suing New Jersey to overturn a key environmental approval for a wind energy farm planned off the coast of Long Beach Island. Save Long Beach Island, Defend Brigantine Beach and Protect Our Coast NJ filed suit in appellate court on April 26 challenging a determination by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that the Atlantic Shores wind farm project meets the requirements of a federal coastal protection law. Bruce Afran, an attorney for the groups, said the state’s “approval flies in the face of the federal regulator’s environmental impact statement that says the Atlantic Shores project will damage marine habitat, compress and harden the seafloor, damage marine communities, compromise migration corridors for endangered species, and cause commercial fishing stocks to decline.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:05
Fishing Vessel Lady Mary Remembered 15 Years After Sinking
On March 18, 2009, the F/V Lady Mary, a 71-foot scallop boat, left Cape May Harbor for the scalloping grounds in an area known as the Elephant’s Trunk, roughly 60 miles from Cape May. The crew had nearly completed its catch when, between 5:19 and 5:39 a.m. on March 24, the boat sank. Six of the seven crew members were lost. Over the next four years, the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board completed investigations into the sinking, concluding there were multiple factors responsible. The Coast Guard filed its report on Aug. 23, 2013, saying the Lady Mary did not capsize, nor did it sink due to a fire or explosion. Despite the reported nearby presence of a container vessel named the Cap Beatrice, the Coast Guard concluded there was no evidence that any other vessel was at fault for the chain of events that eventually led to the sinking. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:35
‘Codfather’ boat sunk, sleeps with the fishes in artificial reef off the Jersey Shore
The Axel Carlson Reef off the Jersey Shore has a new structure that was once part of the fleet of the infamous “Codfather” Carlos Rafael, a commercial fisherman who went to jail for mislabeling fish in 2016. When he went to jail, his entire fleet of boats worth millions of dollars was seized by the IRS and sold off. One of those boats was the Carrabassett, a 90-foot steel dragger. It was purchased by a New England commercial outfit that ran the boat aground, cracking the hull open. The boat then caught fire at drydock and was going to go on the scrap metal market when New Jersey’s artificial reef program coordinator Peter Clarke was able to secure it in order to add it to the Axel Carlson Reef, a man-made reef that sits 2.1 miles off the coast of Point Pleasant Beach. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:34
How the death of a mega-turbine rattled US offshore wind
When GE Vernova confirmed that it was canceling one of the largest wind turbines ever designed, it signaled a pause in an arms race that for years had led manufacturers to go higher, longer and wider when building towers, blades and other components. Now, that decision is reverberating across U.S. efforts to build wind projects in the Atlantic. New York canceled power contracts for three offshore wind projects last week, citing GE Vernova’s decision to abandon its largest turbine model, a massive 18-megawatt machine. The timing could hardly be worse. Offshore wind is the keystone of New York’s plan to generate 70 percent of its power with renewable energy by the end of the decade.“Using the lower-capacity turbines means that each developer would need to buy 12 to 13 additional turbines to build a project of the same capacity,” Jain said. “That also means more foundations, cables, days hiring expensive installation vessels and so on, significantly raising total project cost assumptions.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:24
Charges Dropped Against Wind Farm Protesters in Ocean City
Charges against six wind farm opponents arrested in a rally last September in Ocean City were dropped this week and their records were expunged. About 60 protesters attended the rally with the goal of stopping workers from drilling holes in the street in an early step in Orsted’s proposed Ocean Wind 1 project. When police asked protesters to relocate about 10 feet from the site, many did. Six others didn’t. After they laid down in the street, they were arrested and charged with two disorderly persons offenses, failure to disperse and obstruction of highways or public pathways. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 15:52
Offshore Wind Lease Areas Impede on Historic Fishing Grounds
In announcing its decision Monday (the initial deadline for comment), BOEM said it received requests from tribal nations and stakeholders to provide more time to review and comment on the lengthy environmental document. The decision also came on the 40th anniversary of COA’s incorporation. “When we started in 1984, the ocean was the dumping capital of the world. We worked really hard to clean it up and in 2000 we ended ocean dumping. (That’s) the power of the people,” Cindy Zipf, COA executive director, said. Since then, the Atlantic Ocean has thrived, she added. “We’ve seen majestic animals and (the) bounty of what she (the ocean) provides (us) free,” Zipf said. “What’s the return now? There’s a bunch of people that want to industrialize the ocean to claim some green energy revolution, but the facts aren’t there. We don’t see them.” more, by Gina G. Scala, >>click to read<< 10:41
Coast Guard, good Samaritans assist disabled fishing vessel crew off Barnegat Light, New Jersey
The Coast Guard and good Samaritans assisted four mariners Tuesday after the 64-foot commercial fishing vessel F/V Monica became disabled about 85 miles from the New Jersey coast. F/V Monica was reported to be experiencing transmission issues and a Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light 47-foot Motor Life Boat (MLB) crew safely towed the vessel to Lighthouse Marina, in Barnegat Light. Good Samaritans aboard the nearby commercial F/V Alexandria Dawn heard the distress call and diverted to help. The F/V Alexandria Dawn crew arrived on scene and initiated a tow of the F/V Monica towards Barnegat Light. 3 photos, more, >>click to read<< 13:29
Most New Jerseyans say they do not want massive wind farms at the shore
Support for building wind turbines off New Jersey’s coast has taken a dive in the last four years, particularly among residents of shore towns, a Stockton University Poll reveals. Currently, half of the state’s residents are on board with plans to erect wind turbines at sea for electricity, a sharp fall from the 80% support measured in a 2019 survey. Back in 2019, nearly 80% of New Jersey adults were all for offshore wind farms, with a strong backing from 77% of coastal dwellers. Now, only 33% of those living near the coast are fans of the idea, according to the latest findings. more, >>click to read<< 17:20
Six offshore wind turbine sites planned off Barnegat Light, draw large crowd to Toms River
A plan to place wind turbine farms in six areas of ocean off the Jersey Shore brought a crowd to the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center on Thursday, where the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management fielded questions and concerns. Federal personnel met with more than 100 offshore wind supporters, critics and curious residents over a plan to develop an area of the Atlantic known as the New York Bight. Gus Lovgren, a fourth-generation fisherman, has a vessel named the Lilly Rose docked in Pleasant Beach. Lovgren worries that his family’s century-long fishing heritage in the United States is coming to an end. He said offshore wind farms could block his access to more than half of his usual fishing grounds. The wind farms will bring “devastation and the extinction of our industry,” Lovgren said. photos, more, >>click to read<< 07:29
The Plaintiffs in the Supreme Court’s Big Chevron Case Moonlight as Anti–Offshore Wind Activists
William Bright, Wayne Reichle, and Stefan Axelsson have a lot in common. They live in Southern New Jersey and run commercial fishing operations whose catch includes Atlantic herring, silvery little bottom-dwellers that feed on krill and fish larvae. They are plaintiffs in a Supreme Court case that could soon kneecap federal agencies’ ability to write and enforce regulations. And for the past few years, they’ve had a common adversary: offshore wind developers. Plaintiffs in one of the most closely watched cases this term participated in efforts to block two major renewables projects off the coast of New Jersey, Ocean Wind 1 and 2. The campaign against Ocean Wind 1 and 2 was aided by a network of conservative groups and corporate backers, who rejoiced when Danish energy firm Ørsted canceled both projects in November. Now, when the Supreme Court rules on Chevron this spring, these groups may have a much bigger win to celebrate. more, >>click to read<< 06:53
New Rutgers Study Confirms Hypoxic Event Last Summer off the New Jersey Coast by Jim Lovgren
In a scientific report released in December 2023 by Associate Professor Grace Saba, and Professor Josh Kohut using underwater robots, called “Gliders” to track ocean water quality, specifically, oxygen concentrations and PH levels, the researchers discovered that large areas of the New York Bight suffered a hypoxic event last summer. The study suggests that any of a number of factors could have caused these conditions, including a change in normal ocean stratification, increased input of nutrients which increase phytoplankton production, increased sea temperatures, and a few more. Conveniently missing from the possible causes of this hypoxic event is the impact of the offshore wind research vessels that have been extensively using high powered sonar and seismic devises throughout the New York bight area for over a year now. Also ignored was any outreach to the scallop fishermen along the coast who have been reporting unusual amounts of “clappers”, which are dead scallops, in their tows. In an article posted in the spring of 2023 in Fisherynation.com, “Is the Great Fishkill of 1976 About to be Repeated?“, I suggested that the New York bight could see an environmental catastrophe that could rival or surpass the great fish kill of 1976 and would be caused by the decomposing bodies of the dead sea creatures killed by the seismic and Sonar assault on the ocean bottom by offshore wind research vessels. Links, more, >>click to read<< 19:46
Pallone, Environmentalists Want Shipping Speeding Rules Enforced
Is the sonar activity related to offshore wind farms leading to whale deaths? The debate rages on. The Long Branch-based environmental group Clean Ocean Action suspects a possible connection between a spate of at least nine whales being stranded on the beaches of New Jersey and New York in December 2022 and January 2023 and wind farm activity, with COA Executive Director Cindy Zipf saying a moratorium is necessary “until an investigation is completed into why whales and the dolphins have been dying and to make sure it’s nothing to do with the intense amount of offshore wind pre-construction activity. However, other environmental groups, such as the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club, which are supporters of the wind farms and government agencies such as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, say they have found no evidence of whale deaths being linked to offshore wind activity. more, >>click to read<< 14:23
New Jersey Approves Two Major Offshore Wind Projects
The approvals were part of the state’s third solicitation for offshore wind power as it aims to achieve approximately 11,000 MW of offshore wind power by 2040. The developments are expected to bring significant economic benefits for New Jersey and establish it as a key player in the offshore wind supply chain. New Jersey’s offshore wind development strategy aims to secure the best overall value for ratepayers while safeguarding the environment and commercial and recreational fishing interests. As part of their commitment, the awarded projects will provide over $60 million for environmental and fisheries research, monitoring, and conservation efforts. The approvals come as the offshore wind industry faces challenges from soaring costs, high interest rates and supply chain bottlenecks that have forced some projects to developers to pivot their plans or cancel projects altogether. “Governor Murphy’s leadership is positioning New Jersey as a significant hub for offshore wind development,” said Said Anne Reynolds, Vice President for offshore wind at the American Clean Power Association. More, >>click to read<< 10:45
