Offshore wind company wins court battle with N.J. county for under

Mar 28, 2024

A state Superior Court has granted a land easement to an offshore wind company to bring power cables onshore under the beach and streets of Ocean City. The lines would eventually lead to a previously decommissioned coal-powered power plant seven miles away.

The Ocean Wind 1 project filed suit against Cape May County last month after it refused to issue land easements to prepare for the powerlines. The state Board of Public Utilities already granted the easements but the county didn’t recognize its authority in the matter, a court filing said.

“The Clerk of Cape May County is hereby ordered to record the orders of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities… related to Ocean City,” the ruling issued on Aug. 17 said. “The orders each include a grant of easement which the court has found are required…”

Ocean City had also been sued by Ocean Wind 1 for its refusal to issue easements on land it owned along the route. But the power company dismissed the suit last month after the city issued the permit.

“The court’s recent ruling allows Ocean Wind 1, which continues to comply with stringent state and federal environmental requirements, to advance towards construction and operations as the state’s first offshore wind project,” a statement from the company Friday said. “Ocean Wind 1 remains, as always, willing to engage in meaningful conversation with Cape May County as the project delivers on its commitments to New Jersey, bringing clean energy, good-paying jobs and local investment to the region.”

A request for comment to Michael Donohue, an attorney representing Cape May County, was not immediately answered Friday.

Ocean Wind 1 is the first of three wind farms approved by the state, which will lead the nation in offshore wind development when it is scheduled to be operational in 2025. A Washington Post story this month said the future of East Coast wind power could ride on the outcome of Ocean Wind 1.

The project — a landmark for the Danish wind giant Ørsted — includes the construction of up to 98, 900-foot long wind turbines 15 miles off the coast. The power cables will come ashore and travel seven miles to the shuttered B.L. England Generating Station in Upper Township.

Gov. Phil Murphy has pledged to bring 7,500 offshore wind megawatts online by 2035. It is a critical part of his energy master plan, which calls for the state to get 50% of its power from renewables by 2035, and 100% by 2050. The effort is meant to wean the state off fossil fuels, and slash New Jersey’s contributions to climate change.

In addition to resistance from Cape May County, two environmental groups, Protect Our Coasts and Defend Brigantine Beach, are suing the state and Ørsted to stop the power company from receiving a federal tax credit to supplement investments for building parts of wind generators. That case has not been decided.

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Bill Duhart may be reached at [email protected].

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