Republicans Seek Moratorium On Wind Turbine Mapping

By Christian Wade | The Center Square contributor, The Center Square New Jersey

April 12, 2023

(The Center Square) — New Jersey Republicans are urging the state and federal government to put the brakes on sonar testing and wind turbine mapping in response to a surge in marine wildlife deaths off the coast.

A proposed resolution filed by members of the Senate's GOP minority caucus calls on the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to impose a moratorium on offshore wind development studies.

The proposal comes in response to a rise in whale deaths on the eastern Atlantic coast, with newly released data showing nearly 40 whales, dolphins and porpoises have died along the New Jersey coast over the past year.

"After months of whales and dolphins washing up on our beaches, enough is enough," said Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, R-Little Silver, one of the bill's primary sponsors. "We cannot ignore the surge in marine life deaths that has occurred while offshore wind project preparation activities have been conducted along the coast."

To be sure, there is no evidence that existing wind farm operations contributed to the recent whale deaths despite the claims by mayors and other New Jersey leaders.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says collisions with vessels are behind many of the whale deaths. "Since 2016, there have been at least 184 'unusual' humpback whale deaths, many of them went to vessel strikes and fishing gear entanglements," the federal agency said.

But some groups, such as Clean Ocean Action, have pointed to wind energy companies conducting vessel surveys off the New Jersey and New York coastlines using high intensity noise devices to study the seabed for placement of wind turbines.

President Joe Biden is pursuing plans to add at least 35 gigawatts of offshore wind in the U.S. by 2030, beginning with Vineyard Wind off the southern coast of Massachusetts. Biden says the plan will boost the nation's clean energy industry and create jobs.

But critics say the rush to construct towering wind turbines off the New Jersey coast raises concerns about the potential impact on the fishing industry, whales and other marine life and tourism in coastal communities.

In February, a group of 30 mayors representing coastal communities wrote to President Joe Biden and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, calling for a suspension of wind power projects off the coast until federal and state governments conduct investigations to determine if activities are a "contributing factor in the recent whale deaths."

Republican members of the state's congressional delegation have filed legislation calling for an investigation into the environmental review process for the "rushed development" of offshore wind farms along the New Jersey-New York coastline.

So far, efforts to halt the testing have been blocked by New Jersey's Democratic-controlled state Legislature, which is pushing forward with plans to develop wind and solar power to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions.

"It is unfortunate that our Democrat colleagues refuse to take these deaths seriously and continue to push forward with Governor Murphy’s agenda without any concern for the environment," O’Scanlon said. "There is no excuse for refusing to work with Republicans and the growing chorus of activists who are demanding answers to this very serious problem."

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