No windmills at the beach. Orsted drops plans for wind farms off Jersey shore

A Danish firm says it's pulling the plug on two wind energy projects that were expected to rise off New Jersey's coastline.

"Orsted will cease development of the Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 projects," the company said Tuesday night following a meeting of its board of directors.

But Gov. Phil Murphy, who has made wind power a key goal for his administration, called the decision "outrageous" and said it "calls into question the company's credibility and competence."

He said Orsted must pay $300 million to support the state's offshore wind sector if its projects "fail to proceed."

"I have directed my administration to take all necessary steps to ensure that Orsted fully honors its obligations," Murphy said in a post around 9:25 p.m. on X, formerly Twitter.

An Orsted executive cited "high inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain bottlenecks impacting our long-term capital investments."

A company statement said "a vessel delay on Ocean Wind 1 .... considerably impacted project timing. "

"We are extremely disappointed to have to take this decision, particularly because New Jersey is poised to be a U.S. and global hub for offshore wind energy," said David Hardy, Group EVP and CEO Americas at Orsted.

Advocates saw clean energy and jobs South Jersey can become an energy leader with offshore wind. We have to move forward

The abrupt decision followed a campaign by wind-energy opponents who raised fears of the projects' cost to consumers and its impact on the environment and tourism.

Protesters marched along New Jersey's shores in July, carrying posterboards with messages like "Why?" and "Stop killing us."

"I am thrilled to see that Orsted has decided to pack up its offshore wind scam and leave South Jersey's beautiful coasts alone," U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Cape May County Republican, tweeted in response to the company's announcement.

He called Orsted's action "a tremendous win for South Jersey residents, our fisherman, and the historic coastline of the Jersey shore."

The state's top Democratic legislators said Orsted's "failure has now impeded our clean energy efforts."

But Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin also vowed to make "all necessary legislative changes to protect New Jersey residents moving forward.

"We will continue to stand up for ratepayers, the Shore tourism industry, our economy, and a clean environment," they said in a joint post.

Orsted expected to generate 1100MW with the first project and 1148MW with Ocean Wind 2.

The projects were expected to support a windfall of union jobs in South Jersey, particularly with manufacturing, assembly and other support work at a port at Paulsboro and on an artificial island in Lower Alloways Creek, Salem County.

The push for wind power has been aided by the state's Economic Development Authority, which notes a goal of generating 11,000 MW of electricity from offshore wind energy by 2040.

The project manager, Hina Kazmi, in September had said Ocean Wind 1 "remains on schedule."

But on Tuesday, Orsted said it "intends to retain the seabed lease area and consider the best options as part of the ongoing portfolio review."

Orsted said it will continue to pursue the Revolution Wind project, a 740MW project intended to serve customers in Rhode Island and Connecticut.

That project is due for completion in 2025, the company said.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Orsted dumps Ocean Wind plans for windmills at Jersey shore