‘Giant sucking noise’ may return at NJ port | Editorial

The day after Election Day, it would be appropriate to return to the 1992 presidential election. Eccentric independent candidate Ross Perot warned of a “giant sucking sound.”

Perot, who died in 2019, was warning about the newly negotiated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). “Massive sucking noise,” he said during the 1992 campaign, It was American jobs and factories going to Mexico.

Are we hearing another, but more localized, “giant sucking noise” as we move through another presidential election?

There is troubling news about the Port of Paulsboro in South Jersey and the major role it is expected to play in the transition to offshore wind energy. The headline of NJ Advance Media’s report was as follows: “Major says massive offshore wind farms are being scrapped in NJ windport.”

The story confirmed that there were more than a dozen individual batteries – Giant steel masts on which wind turbines are mounted and anchored in the ocean – being dismantled for scrap metal. This means that someone is doing business there but is not doing the ongoing work that this manufacturing facility is supposed to bring in. Today’s giant sucking noise? This could be an evaporation of jobs and significant taxpayer support taken by the port of Paulsboro on the Delaware River and another “wind port” in Salem County. The port of Salem downriver was improved and redesigned to ship monopiles by barge to the Atlantic seaboard.

It’s no secret—maybe a charitable word—that New Jersey’s ambitious plans for offshore wind energy have stalled and “stalled” for the past year. Started with sewer suction Danish offshore wind giant Ørsted is withdrawing plans to build New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm complex to come to market. The sudden cancellation occurred nearly a year ago today.

During Other companies’ wind plans for New Jersey continueThe pace has slowed down considerably. The entire offshore wind industry in the United States has taken a number of hits lately due to local opposition, several turbine blade accidents, and concerns about overall costs and financing.

It is disheartening to hear that monopiles are being dismantled and sold for scrap as if they were rusted, mothballed warships rather than signs of cutting-edge technology. State and port officials need to say why destruction was allowed rather than preserved for future installations.

In the case of the Paulsboro harbor overall, the monopile plant A lucky deal that overcomes poor numbers for an underutilized port it never created the long-term jobs promised when it opened seven years ago. In 2020, Paulsboro County officials announced that publicly owned South Jersey Port Corp. He thought that as few as 25 people were employed at the cargo terminal operated by . Meanwhile, publicly supported financing for the construction of the port cost $225 million.

Ørsted and its manufacturing partner were required to invest $250 million in wind-related Paulsboro facilities. But the province agreed to a $125 million settlement from Ørsted earlier this year over the withdrawal of the wind project; this was much less than the previously negotiated $300 million “breakup fee”.

Has anyone ever audited the numbers, including public contributions to the Paulsboro port project as well as the Salem project? We recommend Acting State Auditor Kevin Walsh and the audit be investigative in nature.

Going forward, wind energy should still be a priority for New Jersey, but there are caveats that its commitments, both financially and in terms of energy contribution, need to be right-sized for the near future. Additionally, many policy wildcards lie ahead, including federal government support and presidential election results. Donald Trump has made it clear what he thinks about wind energy, and has nothing positive to say about it.

Governorship elections next year will also play a role in this. None of the major potential candidates appear to have as much headwinds as Trump, but they’re picking someone who isn’t an absolute supporter of these projects or a fan of term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy’s energy master plan. former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney could break the momentum or shelve the projects.

It looks like that “giant sucking sound” may not have been consigned to the scrap heap (pun intended) of presidential campaign history. We may be hearing the sound again in South Jersey, even if we aren’t fully aware of it yet.

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