March 17, 2022
Amid growing concern about the environmental impact of offshore wind development, New Jersey’s environment and energy planners are putting up $3.3 million for studies on how building wind turbine arrays may affect wildlife and fisheries.
Wednesday’s announcement by the state Department of Environmental Protection and Board of Public Utilities was that funding will be available for studies. They also stated that they will soon issue a request for proposals. They will also join the Regional Wildlife Science Entity (City of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts and New York) to coordinate research and monitoring of wildlife and marine ecosystems.
The “The” Offshore Wind Research & Monitoring InitiativeThe New Jersey interagency effort includes three areas of research that will be funded by wind developers. Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC, and Ørsted’s Ocean Wind II project with each committing $10,000 per megawatt of planned project capacity – about $26 million in all for long-term research and ecological monitoring.
That first round of funding will cover $60,000 for New Jersey’s entrance into the Regional Wildlife Science Entity.
A block of $865.440 will be used to fund a joint effort by Rutgers University and NOAA, NMFS, and sea clam producers. Surfside Seafood Products, LLC, Port Norris (N.J.), to create a specialized surfclam dredge for conducting research in areas where fishery harvesting overlaps with wind-turbine lease area.
Potential conflicts with the surf clam fleet have been among the major dilemmas for New Jersey’s offshore wind aspirations. Clam operators have insisted they cannot operate safely around turbine fields unless generator towers are spaced 2 nautical miles apart – a position that wind developers say would make lease areas not economically viable.
The research will also investigate the other side to that question: The effects ocean acidification, which is caused by increasing levels in carbon dioxide, on surf-clams.
The biggest cost of $2.5 million will pay for collecting data on ecological and physical oceanographic conditions such as seafloor topography, sunlight availability, temperature and stratification, through monitoring with Rutgers’ fleet of autonomous underwater vehicles. One of the electric gliders from that company will operate on the New York Bight continental shelves, Sandy Hook to Cape May.
The highly endangered North Atlantic right whale population – now estimated at around 340 animals surviving – swim in New York Bight waters slated for wind power development, raising more concerns of late from environmental groups long committed to supporting renewable energy.
Officials from New Jersey say that the RMI will soon issue a request for proposals to fund a passive acoustic monitoring program to better understand right whale movements and behavior.
Officials from the Agency stated that the agency selected the initial research projects based on input from stakeholders, the New Jersey Environmental Resources Offshore Wind Working Group, and input from stakeholders, including environmental organizations, the fishing industry, and federal agencies.
“This project will be part of larger effort which includes collaboration with nearby state, regional, and federal entities that seeks to protect marine mammals as offshore wind farms are developed along the Eastern Seaboard,” the agencies said in a joint statement.
“This is an exciting time for the development offshore wind energy, a vital component of our work to mitigate and respond to the worsening impacts of climate change,” said DEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette in a joint statement. “As the stewards of our vibrant coastal and ocean resources, my colleagues and I at the Department of Environmental Protection are committed to the continuing pursuit of research and monitoring initiatives that will help us to ensure the responsible development of offshore wind facilities and their long-term maintenance and operation.”
“Through the Research & Monitoring Initiative and these initial awards, we are supporting efforts that collect critical baseline data on whales and their movements along New Jersey’s coastline, as well as contributing to regional collaboration to study the impact of offshore wind development on recreational and commercial fisheries and our rich and diverse wildlife,” said BPU President Joseph L. Fiordaliso.
