Bucco renews call for offshore wind moratorium to assess true impacts to ratepayers, environment
NEW JERSEY – Senator Anthony M. Bucco is calling on legislators to return to Trenton and vote on a wind moratorium after reports of growing concerns from even Democratic legislative leadership over the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) response to new offshore wind development solicitations.
“While the Murphy administration has dodged accurate cost assessments for years about their energy plans, Senate Republicans repeatedly called for a moratorium on offshore wind developments so that we could obtain answers about the impacts that these projects will have on taxpayers, tourism, marine life and the environment. Concerns that Republicans raised surrounding the financial impacts of offshore wind were largely dismissed as Governor Murphy and legislative allies gave Orsted a $1 billion bailout. That money should have gone back to utility customers, not to foreign companies while sticking residents with higher bills. If Democrats are sincere about this, they have the ability to come back to Trenton right now and join us to do the right thing to protect ratepayers and marine life,” Bucco said.
A story Monday in the Wall Street Journal highlighted how wind developers are delaying projects due to growing concerns over financing and cost impacts. Last December, Governor Murphy’s own Rate Counsel highlighted these challenges, adding ratepayers “simply cannot afford drastically higher electric bills” while urging a slowdown of wind development.
Senator Bucco called for a moratorium as recently as May following an independent hearing that he chaired which featured a panel of qualified experts and environmental activists. Today, Senator Bucco is calling on legislators to reconvene in Trenton to establish a moratorium on offshore wind development to address mutual concerns shared by state legislators.
