November 6, 2023 — In the long-running sibling rivalry between New Jersey and New York, the Garden State finally thought it had the upper hand.
The state, led by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, decided it could become one of the greenest in the country with offshore wind as its main pillar. But Murphy’s ambitious plans to make New Jersey’s power supply carbon-free by 2035 collapsed days ago when the developer Ørsted canceled two of the state’s three offshore wind projects.
Now, if President Joe Biden ever wants to meet his energy goals for the nation, New York and other Northeastern states are going to have to pick up New Jersey’s slack. And New York — the bigger sibling, the one with more money, more power and more attention — is poised to snatch away factories and jobs that New Jersey hoped for.
“We’re certainly the state with the greatest ambition at this point,” said Fred Zalcman, director of the New York Offshore Wind Alliance, which advocates for the industry.
New York has a lot riding on the success of offshore wind too. New efforts to save or replace at-risk projects the state has already approved are even more important after the New Jersey projects evaporated.
Offshore wind has long been seen as an essential power source for densely populated coastal states to meet ambitious climate targets. Wind farms don’t have to compete with people for land and send power to waterfront cities.
Approving new wind farms became a sometimes-competitive cause célèbre for Democratic leaders who wanted to expand maritime ports, open new factories and create union jobs. It also became something of a zero sum game, even though they share the same coastal waters.