Offshore Wind Farm To Reach Oyster Creek, B.L. England Plants

SOUTH JERSEY — A proposed offshore wind farm off the coast of southern New Jersey will connect onshore to two decommissioned power plants in Ocean and Cape May counties, officials said Tuesday.

Ørsted, the Danish wind energy developer, and PSEG, a New Jersey utility company, held the first of three virtual public hearings about the Ocean Wind project on Tuesday.

Ocean Wind would install up to 98 turbines offshore about 15 miles southeast of Atlantic City. The project is expected to produce 1,100 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power 500,000 homes, according to the Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Ørsted has two more years of permitting approvals needed to complete the project. Ørsted plans to have the wind farm operational by 2024.

In the proposed project, the wind farm would connect to the electric grids at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey and the B.L. England Generating Station in Marmora.

The Oyster Creek plant closed in September 2018 and the B.L. England plant shuttered in May 2019. Oyster Creek would serve as the northern connection with the southern connection at the B.L. England plant.

Cables running from the wind farm will be buried below the seabed surface within federal and state waters at least 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City.

For the cables to reach the Oyster Creek plant, they would need to run under Island Beach State Park, into Barnegat Bay and come ashore directly at the Oyster Creek site in Forked River, or at either Bay Parkway or Lighthouse Drive in Waretown.

The cables would also connect the offshore turbines to a substation near the former B.L. England plant.

These cables would come ashore at one of three potential locations in Ocean City, including 5th Street, 13th Street or 35th Street. Ocean City officials would need to approve an ordinance allowing the company to run the cables under the city's streets.

Pilar Patterson, the permit manager for Ørsted, said construction in beach areas would be limited to a minimum during the summer.

Several people spoke in favor of the project, while others expressed opposition to the plan.

Ciro Scalera, a representative of the New Jersey Laborers Union, said that he was in favor of the project, viewing it as a way to add jobs and boost the economy while providing green energy.

Ocean City Councilman Michael DeVlieger addressed concerns mentioned during recent council meetings about how the project could devastate the real estate, hospitality, tourism and fishing industries that shore communities rely on. Read more: Ocean City Council Continues To Discuss Wind Farm Concerns

“I believe that the wind turbines are an existential threat to numerous wildlife species off our coast, in particular the Atlantic sturgeon, the North Atlantic right whale and the horseshoe crab. They should be protected under the Endangered Species Act,” DeVlieger said.

DeVlieger added that more research should be done before a project such as this one is approved.

“No one knows how this will affect that cold pool, that feeds our wide variety of sea life.”

BOEM will also hold two more virtual public scoping meetings to accept comments on the project. Registration for the meetings can be completed here.

The virtual scoping meetings will be held at the following dates and times:

• Thursday, April 15 at 5:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 20 at 5:30 p.m.

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