I’m posting this because while onshore and offshore wind have different technologies, costs and impacts, concerns of industrialization of landscapes are consistent. I’ve noticed much reporting on “Trump’s War on Wind”, which tends to make invisible (non-Trump) people’s concerns with the technology and preference for other choices for energy production. People with concerns have also been maligned as tools of the O&G industry or closet Trumpians or whatever. Robert Bryce keeps a database of rejections and restrictions on wind, solar and batteries from around the world, for those of you who are interested.
In the West, onshore wind tends to located far from cities which also require building sometimes extensive transmission as well. And you might remember the December 24 post-election approval of the Lava Ridge project by the Biden Admin (opposed by the Governor of Idaho).
According to Wikipedia:
Most of the project’s power will be exported through the already approved Southwest Intertie Project (SWIP), also being developed by LS Power, which runs south to Las Vegas and Southern California.[1]
Western onshore can have the “green colonialism” vibe (from Governor Little’s letter “to give California electricity from Idaho), as well as tension with “protection” of federal lands. that may not exist for coastal offshore, which is located close to dense energy-using communities.
Anyway, yesterday I received an interesting press release (for those of you who follow the political angle, Governor Sherrill is a D.) She seems to be doubling down on solar plus batteries, nuclear and gas and not so much wind. Perhaps the tide (so to speak) is turning?
I’m reposting the full press release from Save LBI below.
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Save LBI Encouraged by Governor Sherrill’s Energy Approach as a Responsible Alternative to Costly and Damaging Offshore Wind.
Long Beach Township, NJ, February 10, 2026 – Save LBI Inc., which has long opposed New Jersey’s risky and expensive offshore wind buildout, supports Governor Mikie Sherrill’s Executive Order No. 2 declaring an electricity affordability emergency and directing a shift toward solar and advanced nuclear production, modernized natural gas plants, and policies that reduce peak electricity demand, and provides suggestions to foster that approach.
“For years, we have warned that overreliance on offshore wind would drive up electric bills, threaten grid reliability, impair our onshore military radars, harm marine life and industrialize our coastal waters with only minimal and uncertain benefit,” said Bob Stern , a Ph.D. scientist and president of Save LBI. “The new order appears to recognize the many failings of offshore wind as it pivots to energy sources that are less costly and more reliable”.
A Practical, Consumer Focused Path Forward
The Executive Order correctly identifies the core of the crisis: rapidly rising demand (driven in part by data centers and “ghost load” colliding with a shortage of dependable supply in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) wholesale electricity market. Capacity prices have exploded, adding billions in new costs to New Jersey families and businesses. We commend the Governor for:
· Accelerating distributed and utility-scale solar. By fast-tracking distributed and utility-scale generation projects, the State is making the right moves toward local, modular resources that can be built in short time frames.
· Modernizing existing natural gas plants instead of forcing premature retirements. Directing the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to expedite permits for efficiency upgrades and capacity improvements acknowledges that modern, more efficient gas plants remain essential to keeping the lights on and prices in check.
· Recentering nuclear power as a backbone of reliability. Creating a Nuclear Power Task Force to pursue advanced nuclear generation is a critical step toward a long-term, zero emission, and almost always on resource that does not depend on weather or volatile commodity prices.
· Cutting red tape and fixing interconnection bottlenecks. The Order’s focus on faster, more predictable permitting and improved interconnection processes will remove some of the key obstacles that have stalled responsible energy projects.
Additional Steps for New Jersey To Consider
To maximize the benefits of this new approach to electric energy and further protect consumers and the power grid, Save LBI is offering a number of suggestions for the State to consider :
· Have the NJ Board of Public Utilities (BPU) proceed with an advanced nuclear solicitation process to select specific projects in parallel with, and informed by the Nuclear Task Force work, and consider as one selection factor the co-location of new facilities with AI data centers and industrial or energy production facilities such as at Oyster Creek where Holtec International is proposing to build four Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
· Explore opportunities for new natural gas generation capacity, especially those that would make efficient use of the new Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) gas supply system.
· Review the DEP’s reasons for the disapproval of the Competitive Power Ventures Keasbey Energy Center natural gas electric generation project and whether the sponsor is still interested in pursuing that project.
· Prioritize utility-scale solar; require that BPU issue awards sooner than the 270-day review period in the Executive Order so facilities can be placed in service prior to December 31, 2027 and receive federal tax credits.
· Implement aggressive demand-side energy management and efficiency standards.
· Revise pricing practices to require AI data centers and other very large electricity users pay the full cost of the added supply of electricity they demand.
· Provide training and educational programs on skills important to nuclear and natural gas generation projects.
· Review New Jersey‘s environmental justice law and rules as regards the siting of electric generation facilities; it is unclear why more stringent air quality standards and procedures should be applied to communities based on income or minority status, as opposed to existing pollution levels wherever those occur.
· Modify the current requirement in the State Energy Master Plan that all electricity sold in New Jersey by January 1, 2035 come from clean energy sources. The requirement is unrealistic and contrary to the reliability and affordability goals of the Executive Order. It has distorted sound energy source planning, which has been and will always be a balancing of source affordability, reliability, longevity, and environmental impact. Additionally, it should be clear by now that no electric energy source is environmentally “clean.”
· Codify a new renewable energy generation solicitation policy that places a moratorium on offshore wind generation and related transmission projects, and requires, prior to any future State awards, a full, independent and transparent cost-benefit, reliability, and environmental review that is benchmarked against advanced nuclear, solar, natural gas and energy efficiency alternatives.
· Withdraw from the State Agreement Approach under which NJ requested that PJM design a customized transmission “backbone” specifically for offshore wind. This unprecedented request from NJ forced PJM to divert engineering resources away from standard project queue work.
Conclusion
“Executive Order No. 2 is an important course correction for New Jersey’s energy policy,” Stern concluded. “It squarely addresses the affordability and reliability crisis, emphasizes distributed and dispatchable resources, and accepts advanced nuclear and modernized gas as essential pillars of a balanced system. This is a far more responsible and sustainable path than doubling down on costly, environmentally damaging and uncertain offshore wind projects.”
At the same time, additional work is needed. Save LBI looks forward to working with the Administration, the BPU, the Legislature, and local communities to implement the new energy plan, and strengthen it with realistic policies and additional measures to ensure New Jersey residents have access to reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible energy for decades to come. Save LBI recently formed a sister organization, Save LBI Advocacy, that will be engaged in legislative affairs.
All we needed was that picture – the view from the homes of those who can afford the largest campaign contributions. (Let’s turn “environmental justice” on its head.) Not sure I see a good comparison to the rural/ag communities providing onshore wind (and how the view affects their property values).
Hmm.. let’s see .. appearance of pristinity is important for the economics of tourist communities in the west, or so we’ve been told. But not for tourism in NJ.
The turbine farms I’ve seen in the west are not in “tourist communities” – typically grazing lands (but for sure not a scientific sample).
My point was that in the west, when Wilderness comes up, the argument is that it improves tourism because people want to see wilderness-y things. It seems to me that they are arguing that non wilderness (O&G wells, solar and wind) would reduce tourism bucks. Why wouldn’t that apply to coastal tourism?
I’m not saying it wouldn’t apply to coastal tourism. I’m suggesting that property values may be more higher and/or more affected by the view of the horizon on the coast. And I’d add that there may be fewer bucks behind wildernes-y tourism (and I’m not sure how often windfarms would be in a place that is seen from the wildernes-y destination, and therefore have economic effects).
I’m not sure what your point was about Lava Ridge. Idaho’s stated objection had to do with effects on aviation (not economics), which may have been legitimate or NIMBYism (or even “no competition for fossil fuels”).