Over 1,000 Residents Rally Against Offshore Wind Project in Sea Girt & Manasquan: Community Unites to Expose Hidden Risks

MANASQUAN, NJ - A group of over 1,000 residents, both in-person and virtual, took a stand against offshore wind at an event held Monday night at the Senior Center. Organized by the local group Stop the High Risk Power Cables, the meeting brought together experts and officials from local, county, state, and federal levels to inform residents about the impacts of the proposed offshore wind energy program. The discussion focused on transmission lines expected to run from the ocean's wind turbines through Sea Girt, Manasquan, Wall Township, and Howell.

In attendance were experts both locally and from across the state with deep experience in offshore wind and the ocean. From the governing side, both Mayors Mike Mangan of Manasquan and Mayor Don Fetzer of Sea Girt, as were New Jersey Assemblyman Paul Kanitra (D-10) and Congressman Chris Smith (D-4). The field of experts ranged from ocean expert Cindy Zepf , businessman Glenn Hughes, engineer Mike Dean, and Keith Moore from Defend Brigantine Beach/Defend our Beaches.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE TAPINTO.NET NEWSLETTER

Leading the discussion was Fred Marziano who began the meeting saying "A bi-partisan group of concerned local citizens who support SAFE, SMART, and alternative energy but oppose plans that make for human guinea pigs in a high risk experiment that threatens to do irreparable harm. We demand a halt to this project until the risks are objectively evaluated and health, well-being, and safety can be assured. Our focus is on stopping the power cable (click HERE for related story on Transmission cables)

The 3 core themes from the 2-hour meeting were:

1. The lack of transparency by the NJ and Federal Administrations & its entities.

Many of the experts and governing body members harped on the lack of transparency from the state and federal governments:.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE TAPINTO APP FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS. AVAILABLE IN THE APPLE STORE AND THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE .

"The Manasquan council and I have been urging the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) for 2 months now to host a public education for our residents but they haven't, and they were invited to this meeting but opted not to attend." said Mayor Mangan.

Sea Girt Mayor Don Fetzer, a civil and environmental engineer for 50 years, questioned, "Why is so much being hidden from us? If this wind project is so beneficial, where are the signs of welcome or articles praising it? The truth is, it's not what they're claiming. State regulations require a fair and open procurement process, but the NJBPU bypassed our town and went directly to federal property at the Sea Girt Army Camp—hardly fair or open. Everything was concealed. The Governor even eliminated home rule in 2021 for these non-utility companies, giving them a right-of-way through our town. They’ve been planning this for years, knowing what was coming."

Expert Keith Moore, instrumental in Developer Orsted’s withdrawal from its offshore wind bid in South Jersey, stated, "Civilian action groups have appealed to the Governor, testified before the New Jersey Senate and Assembly, protested peacefully in Trenton, and submitted thousands of whitepapers and research to the NJBPU and Department of Environmental Protection. We've received nothing back —no answers at all."

Expert Glenn Hughes presented a document showing 90 miles of potential areas along the coast where the NJBPU could have placed the main power cables, avoiding densely populated neighborhoods. However, the NJBPU's 13-page report on alternative options was almost entirely redacted for the public, including a blank page where a detailed map should have been. Hughes, skeptical that this was standard practice, researched other states' offshore wind program disclosures. He found Virginia's wind plans, which were 35 pages long, fully transparent, and available to the public with no redactions in the report.

2. No serious testing or real-world examples from the Federal or State government on this critical project

Congressman Smith added “These potential problems with the high-powered cables are just the latest concerns highlighted by local residents that big government and big corporate interests are kicking to the side to push through potentially unsafe, untested systems—push through with unimaginable speed and disregard for the caution signs along the way and putting human and sea life at grave risk,” Smith said

Expert Glenn Hughes "Another question you might ask is: where has this been done elsewhere in the world? The short answer is it hasn't. Even a project of a much smaller size - and here's the key, they have 800 MW, and they're splitting the transmission lines into 2 routes, so no more than 400 MW of energy per route. They thought it was prudent to cap it at 400 MW per route versus our state, but our NJBPU thinks it's fine to go up to 5,720 MW through one transmission line with nothing to support the risks involved."

Hughes continued "as it relates to the questions raised by many - levels of radiation and what are known as Extremely Low Frequency Electric Magnetic Fields (ELF/EMF) - there's been a number of reports out there about the impact of radiation, but most reports are around cell phones which put out 5 watts of energy. As a comparison, the scale of this transmission line we're talking about is 5,720 MW which is actually 5.7 billion watts. The bottom line on the studies and the safety - first of all this has never been done before, so that would challenge any study, so you will not find a study giving you an answer and nor has the NJBPU."

"The offshore wind energy project, with so many risks, is not a partisan issue said Hughes." There are over 200 homes along the power cable route. Many of the homes are 10-15 yards away, some less than 10. It will run adjacent to 3 schools, a daycare center, playgrounds, an athletic field, and it will run through superfund site right on Sea Girt Ave."

3. Highly unified group to fight the industrialization of the Ocean

Mayor Mangan of Manasquan said "Manasquan's position is we are against the industrialization of the ocean, and as a town dependent on the ocean for tourism and our healthy fishing industry. Mayor Mangan thanked the citizens group and Assemblyman Kanitra "who has been a true partner" and Congressman Chris Smith who has supported us from the Federal level."

Mayor Fetzer of Sea Girt challenged 40-CFR35 (state and local environmental protection) which 3 key facts: "For a project to get the blessing of the EPA it needs to be cost-effective; environmentally sound; Implementable. I dare anyone in this room to point to any of those 3 things and how this is satisfied by this project. The subsidies can't possibly cover the cost of this project. In fact, I think you are going to see the cost/benefit ratio less than one. The project is not economically feasible."

Ocean expert Cindy Zepf of Clean Ocean Action, a key player in restoring our ocean from its days as a dumping ground, emphasized the renewed fight against the massive push to industrialize the ocean. "While our organization isn’t opposed to offshore wind, the scope, scale, and magnitude of this project are beyond reckless. In my experience, no industrialization has ever benefited the environment."

When asked how she viewed the event, organizer and founding member Kimberly Patterson of StopTheHighRiskPowerCables.org responded "Our goal was to end the secrecy and shed a light on what is planned for our community. We believe that residents and businesses have a right to understand the risks and rewards of a major infrastructure project that runs through our neighborhoods and will significantly impact our community. The meeting was beyond our wildest expectations with more than 1,000 participants and people actually hosting Zoom “watch parties.” The level of interest shown during prime vacation weeks of summer tells you how passionate people are about stopping this project. Our efforts are just beginning.”

For more local news, visit TAPinto.net