NJ BPU approves wind turbine transmission line through Ocean City downbeach.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from downbeach.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A day after the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approvals for the Danish energy company, Orsted, to run a transmission line through Ocean City to connect an offshore wind energy farm to a land-based power grid, the public had their say.
In two separate Zoom meetings, one in the morning, Thursday, and the other in the evening, the BPU heard from the parties that would be affected, Ocean City, Cape May County, and other stakeholders.
They voiced concerns that the line could disrupt an environmentally sensitive portion of Ocean City at the beach lots of 35th Street. Both Ocean City and Cape May County officials said there could be alternative routes, and it would appear that Orsted is just trying to push through the most convenient, “expedient route” for the company, without concerns for those being affected, the residents of Ocean City and the county.
On Wednesday, the BPU granted easements and other permits related to what is called the Ocean Wind 1 project. Orsted fil
Over the objections of Ocean City, state regulators approved plans Wednesday for a transmission line that would run through environmentally sensitive areas of the beach to connect an offshore wind energy farm to a land-based power grid.
Orsted, a Danish energy company, proposed running the line under Ocean City’s streets and bring the electricity onshore in Ocean City through a cable at the beach lots of 35th Street to connect the offshore wind turbines to the power grid at the former B.L. England Generating Station in Marmora.
But it needed the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to approve easements and other permits related to what is called the Ocean Wind 1 project.
During Wednesday’s meeting, BPU members went into executive session to discuss the matter, among other unrelated projects. Upon returning, the state agency granted Orsted the approvals needed.
“The board finds that the property rights and consents are reasonable and necessary for the constructio