Yesterday, Governor Phil Murphy signed Executive Order No. 307, increasing New Jersey’s offshore wind goal by nearly 50% to 11,000 megawatts (MW) by 2040. The Executive Order, which increases the state’s current goal of 7,500 MW, also directs the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to study the feasibility of increasing the target further.
Additional offshore wind power generation means additional projects that ultimately require transmission lines to be carried onshore. This, of course, carries a host of concerns for those municipalities along the coast and further inland. These communities will need to be cognizant of the impacts wind turbines will have on their viewshed as well as the land use concerns associated with the onshoring of transmission lines and other necessary equipment.
While the League generally supports the development of offshore wind and other alternative power resources, we continue to oppose efforts to undermine municipal land use control that could ultimately negatively impact local communities.
Contact: Frank Marshall, Esq., Associate General Counsel, fmarshall@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x137.