HALT! Stop Right There
Clean Ocean Action is calling for a halt to any further approvals and authorizations of offshore windmills, in light of the forthcoming Government Accountability Office (GAO) study on offshore wind in the Northeast and the investigation into the unprecedented whale deaths in the New Jersey region.
The Long Branch based organization also called for the halt until robust and critical baseline studies as well as a pilot project to determine true ecological impacts are completed.
Their statement came after Orsted’s cancellation of the Ocean Wind 1 and 2 projects off the New Jersey Coast, seeing it as the latest and most dramatic evidence the offshore wind industry is in turmoil.
The announcement by the world’s leading offshore wind developer affirms Clean Ocean Action’s concerns that ocean industrialization is moving at a reckless pace, fueled by federal and state government fast-tracking.
“This is all too much and too fast given the entire industry’s large scale technological failures, supply chain issues, and major financial challenges, despite government bailouts,” COA leaders said. “It is long overdue for developers and federal and state governments to take a time-out, pause the reckless exploitation and industrialization of the ocean, and implement good governance, transparency, science, due diligence, and a pilot project. “
