March 25, 2024 — A group of residents spoke out Wednesday against New Jersey’s latest offshore wind energy plans, saying that approving another round of projects would harm the environment and be costly for electricity customers.
The state Board of Public Utilities is preparing its fourth solicitation for offshore wind development as part of Gov. Phil Murphy’s goal to have 11 gigawatts of energy produced by ocean wind turbines by the year 2040.
To make that deadline, the state must move ahead quickly on the lengthy approval process. More than 90% of the state’s electricity was produced by natural gas and nuclear energy in 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Of the remaining 8% of the state’s energy that was produced by renewable sources, only a small fraction of a percent was generated by wind.