b'OFFSHORE WIND INNEW JERSEY MOVING AHEAD,DESPITE GROWING OPPOSITIONby Peter Buxbaum, AJOTSeptember 2023 | Published in AJOT Issue #754The Inflation Reduction Act, federal legislation which came on the books in 2021, had, as one of its goals, the promotion of renewable energy projects such as offshore wind. But then something funny happened on the way toward achieving that goalinflation itself, in the form of increased supply costs and interest rates.Thoseincreases,togetherwithanticipatedsupplydelays,led rsted, the developer of the largest offshore wind farm approved to date in the United States, the Ocean Wind 1 project in New Jersey, to announce it might have to write off $2.3 billion on its U.S. operations. ThecompanysCEOacknowledgedthatrstedwasconsidering walking away from some projects.Changesineconomicconditionsalsopushedrstedtolobby the New Jersey legislature, which is controlled by Democrats, for largesse. That relief came to the tune of $1 billion, when Trenton enacted legislation in July that allowed the company to harvest fed-eral tax credits that were originally meant for New Jersey ratepayers. Earlier legislation also benefited rsted, removing the authority of counties and municipalities from overseeing offshore wind projects. The apparent special treatment wind developers enjoy under New Jersey law has prompted lawsuits and protests.22'