June 16, 2023 — The independent watchdog agency of Congress agreed Thursday to look into the impacts that offshore wind development could have on the environment, fishing industry and other areas.
In a letter to U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the U.S. Government Accountability Office said it would “review matters relating to the potential impacts of offshore wind energy development” in the northern Atlantic area between Maine and New Jersey. It said the review would include impacts on “infrastructure and vessel traffic.”
It fulfilled a major demand of citizen groups and elected officials opposed to offshore wind energy.
They cite the deaths of 50 whales off the U.S. East Coast since December, although three federal scientific agencies say there is no evidence linking offshore wind preparations to the whale deaths.
Further details of the inquiry are not available, said Chuck Young, a spokesman for the GAO, a nonpartisan research agency for Congress on government operations.