b'Ocean Wind 1 originally earmarked under New Jersey lawcounty has also announced it is exploring OceanWind1,theNewJerseyprojecttoprovideraterelieftoutilitycustomersfederal and state litigation against multiple currently under development, received finalprovidedadditionalfoddertoopponents.agencies on the grounds that the offshore approval from the Bureau of Ocean EnergyThe issue has now moved into the arenaprojects will cause environmental and eco-Management in July. The project will haveofpartisanpolitics,whereopponentsofnomic damage.the capacity to generate 1,100 megawattsoffshore wind are making hay of the corpo- Other Projects at Risk?ofelectricity,enoughtopower380,000rate welfare ostensibly being provided to a homes. Another BOEM approval is requiredsuccessful company. WhiledenyingtheNewJerseyproject for the work to start, which, according toNew Jerseys Republican Senate Leaderis in jeopardy, Nipper did not rule out the aspokesperson,shouldbeforthcomingAnthony Bucco termed the legislation a $1possibilitythatthecompanycouldwalk soon.ConstructiononOceanWind1isbillion bailout of a foreign wind developer.away from other projects, absent govern-anticipated to ramp up in 2024, with finalHewasparticularlyincensedconsideringment support. It is vital, he told an August commissioning expected in the first quarterthatthecompanyindicatedstrongfirst- conference of analysts and investors, that of 2026. half profits in their offshore wind business.governments and decision-makers around InNewJersey,oppositiontooffshoreReportingonrstedsfirst-half2023the world address and reduce the industry windisgrowing,bysomebecauseelec- performance, CEO Mads Nipper noted thatrisksfacingtherenewablessector.The tricity costs to consumers are going to beour offshore business is back with strongcontractedpowerpricesmustreflectthe higher than originally anticipated, by someearnings.ButhedeniedthattheNewrealitiesoftheinflationaryenvironment. on the grounds that the towers are goingJersey tax-credit legislation was instrumen- Otherwise,thenecessaryinvestmentsin to mar local seascapes, and by others whotal in the companys decision making. It isrenewable energy are at risk of either slow-contend that the projects will compromisenot the credit that is driving our investmenting down or simply not happening.theoceanecologyasevidencedbythedecisions, he said. Its the value creationWhen New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, increasing mortality among whales. of the projects. We see no positive valuea Democrat, signed the tax-credit legislation Skeptics say that the ecological conten- creationimpactbywalkingawayfromin July, he did so symbolically in Paulsboro, tion is a mere pretext. The National Oceanicprojects and made the commitments finan- a port city on the Delaware River and the andAtmosphericAdministrationdeclaredcially this year as well. site of a functioning factory for producing an Unusual Mortality Event for humpbackNippernotedthatalawsuitwasfiledmonopiles, an offshore wind component. At whales from Maine to Florida in April 2017,around the pass-back, but added, We con- the time, Murphy said the legislation would way before large-scale offshore wind activ- tinue to advance the project. The lawsuit inbejudgedbyourlong-termeconomic ities started off the East Coast. The whalequestion was filed in late July by local resi- vision for New Jersey and by the concrete deathshavelikelybeencausedbyrisingdents and environmentalists, claiming thatsteps we took to create good-paying jobs ocean temperatures, which are driving thethe tax-credit legislation violates the Newfor workers here and now.fish that whales prey on into shipping lanes.Jersey Constitution because it benefits aButthathigh-mindedrhetorichasnot Whale postmortems often show evidencesingle company.stemmedtheopposition.Inmid-Septem-ofboatstrikesorentanglementswithInanotherlawsuit,alocaljudgesidedber, Senate Republicans called for a mora-fishingequipment,accordingtoareportwithrstedandorderedtheCapeMaytorium on offshore wind projects and asked releasedbyRowanUniversity,apublicCounty clerk to file an easement transfer- for a special legislative session to consider researchinstitutionlocatedinGlassboro,ring county property interests to rsted asprohibiting further tax breaks for offshore N.J. On the other side of the argument, therequiredbytheOffshoreWindEconomicwind companies. The same week protest-Save the Right Whales Coalition, releasedDevelopmentAct,the2021legislationers blocked a road in Ocean City, N.J., on a study showing that offshore wind surveywhich removed counties and municipalitiesthe route proposed for cabling to link the vesselsoftenexceedapproveddecibelfrom the permitting equation. The countyrsted offshore project to the electrical grid levels and use non-approved devices. hasannounceditwillappeal,anditsand were arrested.New Jerseys action allowing rsted tocounsel has predicted the case will even-benefit some $1 billion in federal tax creditstually land in the state Supreme Court. The Back to Contents THE UNCONTAINED 23'