Offshore Wind Too Rushed, Unsafe For Jersey Shore, Van Drew Says

WILDWOOD, NJ — Hundreds packed the Wildwood Convention Center Thursday for Rep. Jeff Van Drew's congressional hearing, titled "An Examination Into Offshore Wind Industrialization."

Van Drew was joined by fellow NJ Republican Rep. Chris Smith, along with Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), and Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) for the hearing, watched by thousands more on a livestream.

In just over two hours, the four heard testimony from a group of experts who shared the negatives of offshore wind. These experts included, among others, Cindy Zipf of Clean Ocean Action, Bob Stern of Save LBI and David T. Stevenson from the Center for Energy & Environmental Policy at Caesar Rodney Institute, a think tank that has received funding from the oil industry.

The representatives and experts said that the projects at the Jersey Shore have been rushed and may be unsafe for both marine life and humans.

If the projects continue, Van Drew said, it will be "the most profound transformation of the Atlantic coast in the history of the United States."

The hearing called for a halt to offshore wind projects. Van Drew also said that he had invited Ørsted, the group behind the Ocean Wind 1 project, but they declined the invite.

"Ørsted does not believe a moratorium on the development of offshore wind is warranted and our company is committed to helping New Jersey prepare for its clean energy future through the responsible development of a local and sustainable offshore wind industry," Ørsted Head of Government Affairs and Market Strategy Maddy Urbish said in a statement. She also denied claims of a lack of transparency.

"BOEM's 1,408-page Draft Environmental Impact Statement on Ocean Wind 1 includes 1,200 cited references from sources such as the US Coast Guard, the US Navy, and Cape May County, in addition to peer-reviewed experts, making it the most thoroughly researched and readily available document for public review," Urbish said. "Over 100 consulting parties were included in BOEM's process, including local municipalities, tribes and community organizations."

Zipf, director of Clean Ocean Action, said that the group is not opposed to offshore wind, but asked that a pilot project be done before the larger-scale projects that are in the works now be complete, something the group has asked repeatedly. "Reducing fossil fuels is critical" to fight climate change, Zipf said, but primarily supports renewable energy projects on land, where they are cheaper.

"Our ocean deserves better," Zipf said. "We must save our ocean."

Stern shared concerns regarding the noise from the turbines, impacting whales and humans too.

"You're looking basically at the destruction of the shore experience," Stern said.

Others testified that the offshore wind industry would have detrimental impacts on the environment, people, fishing industry and tourism.

Smith questioned the impact of wind on whales, something that has been of great concern to many in New Jersey the past few months.

The commonly-shared theory that sonar mapping from offshore wind projects is causing the recent rash of whale deaths at the shore has no credible evidence, scientists and experts have repeatedly said.

The day before this hearing, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection released a statement saying that they were monitoring whale deaths, despite the lack of evidence that offshore wind is to blame. Read more: NJ Whale Deaths Explained By DEP

While preliminary necropsy results have shown several of the whales — including the Seaside Park whale, a female humpback — had injuries consistent with having been hit by ships, the number of whale deaths in a short period of time has had various organizations pointing to offshore wind activities, which have faced significant opposition from their inception off New Jersey's coast. Read more: Seaside Park Humpback Whale's Death Under Investigation

"As of March 2023, no offshore wind-related construction activities have taken place in waters off the New Jersey coast," the DEP statement said, "and DEP is aware of no credible evidence that offshore wind-related survey activities could cause whale mortality."

Other environmental groups have said that the greatest threat to marine life is climate change, and that offshore wind is needed.

"As Co-chair of the Offshore Wind caucus in the House of Representatives, Van Drew was once regarded as the 'most progressive Republican' on climate and environmental issues," Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, said in a statement responding to the hearing. "Now, he's a shill for the fossil fuel industry, flip-flopping on his promises to support New Jersey's growing clean energy economy and pushing lies implying that offshore wind development is killing marine life."

"Offshore wind development is an essential component of New Jersey's transition to a healthier, more prosperous clean energy future," said Tom Gilbert, campaign director for Rethink Energy and co-executive director of NJ Conservation Foundation.

Van Drew said that this hearing was only the beginning, and that the next step was to hold a Congressional hearing in D.C.

"It is time we examine the process and find ways to guarantee maximum transparency and fairness when it comes to the implementation of offshore wind," Van Drew said.