Input on Long Beach Island wind turbine project sought
Atlantic Shores proposes clean energy array to power 700,000 homes
LONG BEACH ISLAND – A federal agency is seeking public input starting this week on a wind energy array containing as many as 157 turbines off Long Beach Island.
The Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind project would stretch from Atlantic City to Barnegat Light and at its closest approach, be 8.4 miles offshore, according to documents released by the federal Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management, or BOEM. The project is expected to power about 700,000 homes, according to the company’s website.
BOEM announced it would begin the environmental review for Atlantic Shore’s construction and operations plan on Monday.
In addition to building as many as 157 turbines, construction would include eight offshore substations, a meteorological tower, two buoys for measuring wind and two cable corridors.
Critics of the project say they worry about the project’s impact on whales and other marine animals. Bob Sterm, president of Save Long Beach Island Inc., an organization that is fighting the Atlantic Shores project, announced Monday that the group would be suing the federal Department of Commerce, the National Marine Fisheries Service and BOEM.
The cable corridors will connect to the onshore grid at Sea Girt, and potentially near Asbury Park or New York City, according to BOEM.
“BOEM is continuing to implement the Biden-Harris administration’s clean energy agenda, while maintaining a careful approach to prevent, reduce, and address any adverse effects on ocean users and the marine ecosystem,” BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein said in a news release.
Critics of the project say they worry about the project’s impact on whales and other marine animals.
Bob Sterm, president of Save Long Beach Island Inc., an organization that is fighting the Atlantic Shores project, announced Monday that the group would be suing the federal Department of Commerce, the National Marine Fisheries Service and BOEM.
Stern said the federal organizations are failing to adhere to the Endangered Species Act and are not protecting the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
Only about 360 North Atlantic right whales remain, and of those, only about 70 are breeding females, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
“The (BOEM) Agency’s approval of the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind South project with respect to that (Endangered Species) Act relied on analysis and reports that significantly underestimate the impact to the whale,” he said in an email to the press. “Save LBI intends to give the whales their day in court.”
Stern said the noise of pile driving turbine supports into the sea floor, turbine operation, and ocean survey vessels pose a threat to the whales, which navigate and communicate using sound.
The National Marine Fisheries said that whale protection strategies are included in the offshore wind project proposals.
Those strategies include reducing noise through bubble curtains, which disrupt sound waves, sound dampeners, and starting quietly then ramping up construction noise so animals have time to leave the area, according to Atlantic Shores documents.
The real threat to whales, according to the National Marine Fisheries, comes from vessel strikes, entanglement in fishing gear and climate change.
Proponents of offshore wind say climate change poses a greater danger to whales than wind turbine farms.
Researchers discovered that climate change and shifting ocean temperatures lead to significant changes in the migration patterns of a variety of whales species in the Cape Cod and Gulf of Maine area, including that of the North Atlantic right whale, according to a 2022 study from the University of Massachusetts, the New England Aquarium, and their various partners.
“Climate change is also affecting every aspect of their survival,” according to the National Marine Fisheries’ webpage focused on North Atlantic right whale protection. “It is changing their ocean habitat, their migratory patterns, the location and availability of their prey, and even their risk of becoming entangled in fishing gear or struck by vessels.”
Earlier this month, federal officials announced $500,000 would be directed toward new technology for satellite tags to help detect whales and reduce collisions between ships and the animals.
The public will have 45 days to comment on Atlantic Shores’ environmental impact statement for BOEM’s review. Comments must be received before 11:59 p.m. May 2. BOEM will hold virtual public meetings on April 3 and April 16. In-person meetings will also be held from 5 to 9 p.m. April 9 at The Berkeley Hotel, 1401 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park; 5 to 9 p.m. April 10 at the Grand Oaks Country Club, 200 Huguenot Ave., Staten Island; and 5 to 9 p.m. April 11 at the Dyker Beach Golf Course, 86th Street and 7th Avenue, Brooklyn.