Public Comment Opens For Wind Farm Off Long Beach Island

BARNEGAT LIGHT, NJ — Members of the public are invited to voice their opinions on the upcoming Atlantic Shores North wind farm that will sit off the coast of Long Beach Island.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) submitted by Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC (Atlantic Shores) on March 18. This is the 12th offshore wind energy COP environmental review initiated under the Biden-Harris administration.

According to BOEM, at its closest point, the about 81,129-acre lease area, OCS-A 0549, known as Atlantic Shores North, will be located 8.4 miles from the New Jersey coast and approximately 60 miles from New York. A map of the lease area can be found on BOEM’s website.

Atlantic Shores North would have up to 157 turbines, plus eight offshore substations, one permanent meteorological tower and two temporary metocean buoys. Cables would make landfall at Sea Girt and either the New York City area or Asbury Park.

Starting March 18, a 45-day public comment period has opened for the Atlantic Shores North EIS, ending at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 2, 2024. Several virtual and in-person meetings will be held. You can find more information here.

Also on March 18, the anti-wind group Save Long Beach Island Inc. announced that they would be suing BOEM, the Department of Commerce and the National Marine Fisheries Service for failing to adhere to the Endangered Species Act when it comes to protecting the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

“The Agency’s approval of the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind South project with respect to that Act relied on analysis and reports that significantly underestimate the impact to the whale, and that Save LBI intends to give the whales their day in Court,” said Bob Stern, the organization’s president.

The Atlantic Shores South project would have up to 200 turbines just south of the Atlantic Shores North area.