Complaint against offshore wind developer Atlantic Shores dismissed by NJ utilities board

TRENTON — An anti-offshore wind organization suffered a loss Wednesday when a state agency dismissed its petition to open a hearing that would have affected the income of Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, a 1.5-gigawatt project that will be built off Long Beach Island.

The organization Save Long Beach Island Inc., or Save LBI, petitioned the state Board of Public Utilities for a hearing, saying the board should decrease the value of Atlantic Shores' Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificates, better known as ORECs.

Renewable energy certificates, including those for offshore wind projects, determine how much electricity customers pay for renewable energy and are issued for each megawatt-hour of electricity generated for the power grid. The prices are calculated through the costs of equipment, construction and operational costs, project revenue, tax incentives, grants and other subsidies and expenses for a project.

In August, Save LBI filed a petition for a hearing from the Board of Public Utilities and argued Atlantic Shores' OREC prices were too high. The organization said in its filing that the OREC calculation did not include impacts on local tourism and commercial fisheries, miscalculated the social cost of carbon, and "misrepresent(ed) statewide impacts."

"They're simply not calculating these benefits and costs correctly," said Bob Stern, president of Save LBI.

Atlantic Shores countered with a request for the board to dismiss Save LBI's petition. The company argued that a hearing on OREC prices would need to be heard — not before the Board of Public Utilities — but rather in the Superior Court's Appellate Division. Atlantic Shores also argued that Save LBI missed a 45-day window to file the appeal following the company's OREC award in 2021.

The Board of Public Utilities sided with Atlantic Shores on Wednesday and voted to dismiss Save LBI's petition.

"We tried to appeal… to some semblance of science and fact here, for them to reconsider their cost-benefit analysis and their approval of the project," Stern, of Save LBI, said by phone on Wednesday. "Apparently, that fell on deaf ears."

Later that day, a group of organizations applauded the state board's decision, calling it a win for the environment.

"Here in Atlantic City, we’re at ground zero with tidal flooding becoming the norm," Atlantic County Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick said in a news release. "It’s so bad, our children have 'flood days' off from school."

Offshore wind projects like Atlantic Shores "will help power our homes, cars and businesses while decreasing our greenhouse gas emissions, which will save lives and livelihoods," she said.

"Clean energy, including responsibly developed offshore wind, doesn’t just tackle climate change," said Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, an environmental advocacy organization. "It will also create thousands of union jobs, grow our economy and improve air quality in over-burdened Black and brown communities that currently bear the brunt of fossil fuels."

Yet other organizations continue to mount legal battles that take aim at Atlantic Shores. Last month, a group of eight coastal municipalities, including six towns that compose Long Beach Island, filed a lawsuit that challenges the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's authority to review offshore wind projects. The towns allege the state environmental department is biased by pressure from Gov. Phil Murphy to approve such projects, despite impacts to coastal views, local tourism economies and fisheries. State officials declined to comment on the pending litigation.

NJ offshore wind fight: Southern NJ towns sue over offshore wind reviews, accuse state agency of bias

"Save LBI and similar groups… persist in claims about adverse impacts (and) have been discredited time and time again," Anne Poole, president of the New Jersey Environmental Lobby, said in a news release. "This (petition before the Board of Public Utilities) is the most recent desperate attempt of a few people to stop a project that will benefit all of New Jersey environmentally and economically."

Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers education and the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than 15 years. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Group wants NJ offshore wind project benefits recalculated