On August 16th, I attended this “Time for Turbines” conference that was held at Stockton’s campus in Atlantic City, an all-day event and attended by people who support the windmill projects off our coastline. Many company representatives who want to receive contracts associated with the building of them were also in attendance. Approximately, 150 to 200 people were in the conference hall. After the welcoming speeches, the conference then moved into a panel type of format with four members discussing various topics related to windmills. This panel format left little room for taking questions from the audience so that the conference could adhere to its tight schedule.
The first panel (New Jersey State Government Resources to Support Offshore Wind) was moderated by Jeanne Fox from Center for Renewables Integration Inc. She asked panel members to comment on our state’s commitment to the windmill project and they included members from the NJ Board of Public Utilities, Sara Bluhm, Brian Sabina, NJ Senior VP Economic Transformation, Jane Cohen, Advisor to our Governor, and Shawn LaTourette, NJ DEP, Chief of Staff. All of their comments offered strong commitment from our state for windmill development.
The second panel (What’s New and Spinning: Project Visions, Timelines, and Local Supplier Updates) included Kris Oleth, Manager of Stakeholder Engagement for Orsted, the Danish company that won the award from our state to build windmills 15 miles off Atlantic City. She indicated that these new windmills will light up 500,000 homes and may be in operation by 2024. At this point, I asked this panel about how it intended to address the noise issue that would be generated by the anchoring of windmills and its effect on whale and fish migration. I was assured by panel members that issue was being reviewed and that measures were being considered to mitigate it, such as stopping construction if whales were migrating near them at the time.
The third panel (Off Wind: An Economic Engine That Can Deliver) focused on the many jobs that would be created, up to 15,000 by constructing them. Union representatives also talked about the job training programs they will offer to get the workforce prepared for the many skills needed to construct them. Emphasis would also be on training workers from the local community and minorities.
Before breaking for lunch, we saw a video by Governor Murphy who spoke enthusiastically about this windmill project. Also, Senator Steve Sweeney, President of NJ Senate, strongly backed windmill development because of the many jobs that would be created and its boost to our state’s economy (he also mentioned as a former ironworker, he would love to be building the big windmills)
The 4th panel (Addressing Environmental Concerns) was moderated by Catherine Bowes, National Wildlife Federation Program Director. Captain Paul Eidman talked about the windmills presently off Rhode Island and not only about the power they produce but also their reefs that are home to many fish. On this panel was a Bill Wall, Project Director, LS Cable America who gave a presentation on the type of cables that would be used to transfer energy from the windmills to land. The electro-magnetic effect emanating from these cables is a BIG concern since they may negatively impact fish migration. I asked him if he thinks that these cables will affect fish migration and he replied that he did not think so, but could not rule it out altogether.
When this panel finished, I met Bill Wall outside the meeting hall and told him that this cable issue really needs a final resolution since it is an impediment of windmill development going forward. We do not need maybes, but an official statement from a reputable organization stating that the cables will not have a negative effect on fish. He told me that he will make contact with a person at Rutgers who he thinks has been doing research on these cables and may come up with the information I requested from him.
In addition to this cable issue, there is the problem of windmill placement over productive fishing grounds for scallops, clams and squid. Commercial fishermen are planning to sue the windmill industry over this since they will lose their access to these fishing areas and possibly go out of business.
During a break between the panel discussions, I asked Doug O’Malley, NJ Environment Director, if there could be some compromise like giving the developer a larger lease space so that the windmills could be placed in alternate locations to mitigate his problem. He referred me to another person who is more familiar with this issue. This person, William O’Hearn, from Business Network for Offshore Wind, told me that “he did not have an answer for me.” I did not even get a “we are looking into this” or at least tell me of some type of meeting planned in the near future with the commercial industry to discuss this problem.
In summary, there were a lot of “heavy hitters” at this conference and a lot of excitement to get the windmills up and operational. The comment I heard frequently from panel members was “let’s get this right the first time.” However, there are outstanding issues that will not go away by ignoring them and they will ultimately delay the installation of the windmills. The “I don’t have an answer for you” won’t stop the commercial industry from dragging their lawsuits through the courts that will delay movement on windmills. The cable problem I mentioned is another obstacle that needs resolution.
