November 9, 2021 — The proposed offshore wind project along New Jersey’s southern coast drew a mix of support and opposition from residents and officials during an open house in Ocean City on Saturday morning.
The Danish energy company, Ørsted, plans to construct 99 wind turbines about 15 miles off the coast from Atlantic City to Cape May. Ørsted expects the wind farm to be operational by 2024 and capable of powering half a million homes.
The wind project is part of New Jersey’s goal of achieving 7,500 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035 and 100 percent clean energy by 2050.
A panel of Ørsted representatives fielded questions on Saturday about the wind farm’s potential impact on Cape May County’s tourism and the commercial fishing industry during a nearly three-hour forum.
“We believe in coexistence with a wide range of industries. We think that we can all productively exist,” said Maddy Urbish, Ørsted’s head of Government Affairs & Policy for New Jersey. “When it comes to tourism, Ocean Wind, PSEG and Ørsted — we really want to be good community partners.” Urbish noted that in previous projects, Ørsted has not seen an impact on tourism.
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