September 29, 2023 — A new Stockton University Poll shows New Jersey public support for building offshore wind turbines took a steep dive over the past four years, especially among residents in areas along the ocean and bays – where the plans for wind power once enjoyed 77 percent support.
Today that support has plunged to 33 percent among the latest poll respondents in coastal areas, the Stockton pollsters reported this week.
The findings follow months of intense news coverage about whale strandings on Jersey Shore beaches, and furious campaigning from offshore wind project opponents who say construction will damage the fishing industry. Another big worry is how visual impact of turbines seen from the beach could hurt property values and the summer tourism economy.
Overall support among New Jersey residents still favors offshore wind energy development, with 50 percent in favor of the state’s plans to for building turbines arrays and 33 percent opposed, leaving 16 percent were unsure.
Yet statewide, “the results reflect a drop of 30 percentage points from the findings of a September 2019 Stockton Poll that asked an identical question,” noted pollsters with the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton. “In 2019, 80 percent of adult New Jersey residents supported offshore wind farms.”