By Debra Coyle
The future begins Wednesday, Feb. 23.
That’s when the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will auction off leases to develop wind farms on six huge offshore water parcels, covering nearly half a million acres from Cape May all the way to Montauk Point. The sale, located in an ocean formation called the New York Bight, is the largest-ever such auction to take place in federal waters.
It’s about time. As a coastal state, we’re already facing severe impacts from climate change. Thirty New Jerseyans died during Hurricane Ida, which cost $65 billion in damage up and down the East Coast. There’s no longer any doubt that human-induced carbon emissions contribute greatly to these extreme weather events.
Unless we act now, we’ll see more of them in years to come. To protect our lives, our homes and our businesses, the only long-term solution is a dramatic, once-in-a-generation shift to low-carbon renewable energy sources.
This is no time to think small, which is why the states of New Jersey, New York and the federal government are teaming up to go big. New offshore wind turbines will have the capacity to power 2 million homes.
Like any large-scale effort, this new project is already generating controversy. Some coastal residents, concerned about the impact on recreation and tourism, are suing to slow it down and suggesting it be moved further offshore. Others say more consultation is needed to assess the impact on Atlantic Ocean fisheries.
We agree that it’s important to move forward in an environmentally responsible manner — so long as we keep moving. Burning more fossil fuels with no alternative plan is simply not going to work.
Instead, let’s focus on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to nurture and create a new industry. We in the Jersey Renews coalition believe working people must be front and center when it comes to creating and sustaining good-paying, family-wage jobs.
That’s why we’re glad to see the Biden administration has incorporated project labor agreements into proposed offshore leases so workers building 21st-century technology will earn fair wages with safe working conditions and an opportunity for union representation.
The BOEM lease agreements also smartly include incentives to build major components and supplies for wind turbines here in the United States. The state of New Jersey is already moving to get a head start on the logistics and transportation part of the business.
A new wind port in Salem County, built with no height restrictions, can accommodate the gigantic blades and turbines needed for wind power. The facility can also expand as a manufacturing site.
Right now, wind power components are mostly built at existing facilities in Europe. As more wind farms are constructed to meet U.S. energy needs, we’ve got a chance to bring more of those jobs home – and New Jersey is poised to compete.
Since this industry will operate on leased public property, with substantial public incentives, we have every right to insist that the benefits of economic growth are spread as widely as possible.
Opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses and a special focus on local hiring from disadvantaged communities can’t be an afterthought but must be built into these projects from Day One. Jersey Renews has partnered on this offshore wind petition calling for the realization of these benefits.
Moving power generation offshore, with full environmental safeguards that creates good paying jobs, offers a path to improve our current standard of living. And it will allow future generations to enjoy our beautiful Jersey shore, with less fear from ever-rising sea levels.
Debra Coyle is executive director of the New Jersey Work Environmental Council, member of the Jersey Renews coalition.
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