Ocean City Criticizes Bill Limiting Local Say Over Wind Projects

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Ocean City Council passed a resolution Thursday opposing a bill that limits local governments' ability to control infrastructure for offshore wind farms.

The bill (A-5894), which was sent to Gov. Phil Murphy's desk after it was approved by the state Senate and Assembly, comes as the Danish energy company Ørsted has been seeking council's permission to run cables under Ocean City’s streets.

The cables that connect to Ørsted’s proposed offshore wind farm would need to come ashore at one of three potential locations in Ocean City at either 5th Street, 13th Street or 35th Street.

The bill would give the state Board of Public Utilities the authority over local governments to construct and maintain wires and associated infrastructure as long as they run under streets or other public property in any municipality.

“It's just bad government. We should have the ability to defend Ocean City,” said Councilman Tom Rotondi. “It shouldn’t be because there’s a majority in Trenton that says we want to do something.”

According to Ocean City’s resolution, the legislation “would severely affect the ability of local governments to exercise home rule pertaining to the offshore wind farm project through the elimination of good faith negotiations, which clearly positions Ørsted, a foreign entity, in an advantageous negotiating position at the expense of the coastal municipalities.”

Council President Bobby Barr also had concerns about the project being fast-tracked before state and federal environmental impact studies are released in 2023.

“My big problem is under this law we would not have the same opportunity to review those same reports and say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on this project,” Barr said. “By and large, the no. 1 question is, what is the effect on the environment?” adding that he has been inundated with questions from residents about how the turbines will impact birds and marine life.

Mayor Jay Gillian voiced support for the council’s resolution in his weekly update on Friday.

“I appreciate and support the resolution on last night’s City Council agenda opposing a state bill that takes away our home rule and limits the potential that Ocean City taxpayers could be compensated by Ørsted for allowing transmission lines to cross town. But the bill had already been approved, and the governor is expected to sign it.

“Regardless of where you stand on the issue, it’s important to keep all lines of communication open. Throughout this process, I have been in contact with elected officials, regulators, representatives of Ørsted and many others. There are a lot of competing interests wrapped up in this project. We need to be respectful of everybody with a stake in this proposal or else we could come away with nothing to show for it. If the project can’t be stopped, I would hope that we could still salvage fair compensation that could help fund our flood mitigation program or other projects,” he said.

An Ørsted spokesperson told the Associated Press that the company supports the bill, which he said "establishes a mitigation process for qualified offshore wind projects approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities if talks break down at the local level. This is critical for keeping timelines and schedules not only for the developer, but for the supply chain and workforce dedicated to the project."

Ørsted is currently in the permitting phase, which is expected to take two years to complete.

The proposed project aims to construct 99 wind turbines about 15 miles off the coast from Atlantic City to Cape May. The wind turbines are expected to produce enough energy to power half a million homes by 2024, according to Ørsted officials.

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