Save LBI Weighs In
Recent events have confirmed that even with billions in Federal and state subsidies, the current New Jersey wind projects are not economically viable without additional electric bill or tax handouts, nor are they effective in addressing climate change.
Under the guise of saving the planet from climate change and providing long term economic growth the federal government and the State have been extremely generous to foreign wind energy companies with both money and environment. This includes federal tax credits, increases in electric bills, taxpayer funding of onshore support facilities, additional direct subsidies, a weakening of the environmental impact statement process, and the potential for children to pick up the tab for removing the turbines, substations and cabling in the future.
That is the opinion of representatives of at least three different agencies, including Long Beach Island who are calling for some serious reflection by state legislators.
There are new wind technologies on the horizon and ways to pursue renewable energy that do not ruin the Jersey shore and jeopardize marine mammals, said Bob Sern, Ph.D. president of Save Long Beach Island, Inc., “ Save LBI will keep the public informed on these matters of extreme importance to your pocketbook and our environment, “ he said. For further information, visit their webpage at www.save LBI.org or the Facebook page at SaveLBI Community Group for the latest updates.
Stern, who is president of the LBI, Inc., is joined by Ed O’Donnell, a principal in Whitesgrand Consulting, LLS, and John Deitchman, coordinator for Save LBI Issues and listing numerous reasons why more attention should be paid immediately to funds being spent on wind projects.
All three point out that offshore wind remains the most expensive form of renewable energy generation for the US and high costs have skyrocketed due to supply chain issues, higher interest rates and inflation. Such costs are causing other developers to re-think their cost and schedule commitments, and are doubling down with requests for more handouts.
By threatening to walk away, foreign wind companies convinced six Atlantic coast state governors to plead for more Federal tax credits, a new federal revenue sharing program, and a further acceleration of the review and approval process for offshore wind projects. If demands for new subsidies are approved,” O’Donnell said, “electric power rates statewide could rise at least 30 percent for residential, 40 percent for commercial and 50 percent for industrial customers for the full planned wind program. That means a typical household would pay more than $9,000 extra for wind generated power over the more than 20 years these higher rates are in effect.”
The experts also point out that studies have shown that even much lower across the board increases in electric rates would result in thousands of job losses and hundreds of millions per year in lost wages in the state.
Proponents of offshore wind acknowledge there is a cost involved, but the Atlantic Shores project CEO considers it worth the price because of its “importance to climate change” and “economic and work force development benefits” . However, Stern points out the federal environmental impacts statements (EISs) themselves, e.g. the Vineyard Wind project EIS, say that the offshore wind projects will have “no collective impact on global warming. He added that “ proponents of offshore wind fail to present the true global scope and the time dependent nature of the global warming challenge.
Despite scientist warnings over 50 years ago to world leaders to reduce carbon emissions, they continue to increase. In 2022 alone.” Deitchman pointed out “the touted job and economic benefits are overstated, primarily associated with the construction period. It is unclear how many of the jobs will go to NJ versus foreign workers.”
All three critics further note that the next few months will be a critical period for NJ offshore wind. They say there is seemingly no end to the subsidies being demanded. Prior State decisions on the existing NJ projects should be revisited as to whether they should go forward and at what cost, and Save LBI has asked for a rehearing of the Atlantic Shores 1 project in that regard.”
Decisions on the projects proposed for the next 4000 megawatts should be paused, and no additional electric rate or tax subsidies should be given until a full cost benefit analysis is done on the existing and proposed projects (as recently requested by the NJ Legislature leadership) and an analysis is done of the financial returns being realized by the foreign developers (as requested by the NJ Office of the Rate Counsel), they insist.
