Representative Chris Smith of New Jersey is asking the Government Accountability Office to scrutinise the US Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM) and the National Marine Fisheries Service’s process of environmental reviews of proposed offshore wind projects.
On 21 February, the Marine Mammal Commission, an independent government agency, issued a statement: “Despite several reports in the media, there is no evidence to link these strandings to offshore wind energy development.”
Federal agencies have previously said that 40% of the carcasses examined showed evidence of vessel strikes or entanglement with fishing gear.
In January, Sarah Wilkin, coordinator of the marine mammal health and stranding response programme at the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, said the risk of strikes has been higher this winter because the whales’ prey is reportedly closer to shore, probably because of warmer waters as a result of climate change.
Meanwhile, Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, vice chairman of the House of Representatives’ transportation and infrastructure committee, said he was planning to launch public hearings in New Jersey on the issue starting on 16 March.
“The unknown impacts of these offshore wind projects raises serious concerns, especially after 18 whales have washed ashore near where surveying is taking place along the east coast, six of which have been in New Jersey,” he told US media.
Van Drew, who switched sides from the Democrats to the Republican Party in 2019, also reportedly said he would introduce a bill that “places a moratorium on all existing projects and legislation that will prohibit all future projects. As a result of these comprehensive hearings, it will determine what the best course of action will be and if additional pieces of legislation are needed.”
The last moratoriums on offshore wind development were done via a memo from the Trump administration to the interior secretary for areas off North Carolina and in the Gulf of Mexico, noted BloombergNEF offshore wind analyst Chelsea-Jean-Michel. These were then repealed by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act.
But in this case, the president – Joe Biden, a Democrat – has a goal of 30GW of offshore wind by 2030 and is unlikely to order a moratorium.
Ørsted’s 1100MW Ocean Wind 1 Ocean Wind 1 (1100MW) Offshoreoff Long Beach, New Jersey, USA, North America Click to see full details and the nearby Shell-EDF Renewables’ 1510MW Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind 1 Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind 1 (1510MW) Offshoreoff Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA, North America Click to see full details project are in development off New Jersey. They are being opposed by local residents. Fishermen’s groups are also generally opposing offshore wind development off the US’s east coast.
