Federal Authorities Approve Offshore Wind Farm Near Long Beach Island

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The Atlantic Shores South offshore wind farm project, set to be built about nine miles off Long Beach Island, has received another major approval in the company’s path to building the project.

On Tuesday, July 2, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced that federal officials have approved Atlantic Shore’s plans to mitigate damage to the surrounding environment during construction and operation of its energy facility.

Plans for Atlantic Shores South include two adjacent wind turbine fields that would have as many as 195 turbines and power cables that would land in Atlantic City and Sea Girt. It is the ninth offshore wind project approved by the federal government and, when completed, will be the first in New Jersey.

As part of the review process, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, of the Department of the Interior, reviewed and approved the company’s measures to minimize harm to local marine life and fisheries.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is building momentum every day for our clean energy future, and today’s milestone is another step toward our ambitious goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore power by 2030,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a press release.

However, some Jersey Shore residents greeted the news with concern.

Bob Stern, founder of the group Save LBI, which opposes the Atlantic Shores project, said he was not surprised by the federal government’s announcement.

“This particular project has significant negative impacts that many other (offshore wind) projects have not had: it is extremely close to shore and is in a historic migration corridor for the North Atlantic right whale,” Stern said.

Related: Offshore wind advocates, critics clash at Atlantic Shores hearing

The project would also concentrate marine traffic through a strip between the wind turbine projects, potentially putting migrating whales at risk, he said. Building Atlantic Shores would also cut off important ocean areas from recreational and commercial fishing communities, Stern said.

Environmentalists say building wind farms off the New Jersey coast is an important step toward reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

“The Biden administration’s approval of Atlantic Shores South is good for our climate, our public health, our workers and our wallets,” said Anjuli Ramos, executive director of the Sierra Club, a large New Jersey environmental organization. “We are proud that New Jersey is moving toward renewable energy and offshore wind development and away from dirty fossil fuels.”

Atlantic Shores officials welcomed the news Tuesday, saying that once completed, the two turbine fields will power about 1 million New Jersey homes and bring $1.9 billion in economic benefits to the state.

“This milestone brings us one step closer to delivering the first offshore wind projects in New Jersey and achieving the state’s ambitious goal of 100% clean energy by 2035,” said Joris Veldhoven, CEO of Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, in a press release.

Save LBI’s Stern said his members aren’t giving up on Atlantic Shores just yet.

“Our group, like others, will be filing significant lawsuits in the near future because we believe the project and the process do not comply with any of our environmental statutes,” he said. “It is unfortunate, but we will have to pursue this in court and try to get this project shut down.”

Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County education and environmentalist who has been with the Press for more than 15 years. Contact her at @OglesbyAPP, [email protected] or 732-557-5701.