Long Delayed Jersey Shore Wind Farm Gets Scrapped

LONG BEACH ISLAND, NJ — Yet another offshore wind farm in New Jersey is being canceled by its developers.

Leading Light Wind, which already has been delayed twice and was pending a third delay request, will not be moving forward, an attorney for the project said in a letter to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU).

Colleen A. Foley, the attorney representing Leading Light Wind, wrote that the company "cannot move forward" under the terms the BPU set out. In the letter, the company withdrew their request for another delay.

"The Board is well aware that the offshore wind industry has experienced economic and regulatory conditions that have made the development of new offshore wind energy projects extremely difficult," Foley wrote. "Like many other industry participants, the Company has faced a series of obstacles in the development of the LLW Project including supply chain, equipment and vendor challenges as well as changing regulatory requirements, to name but a few of the issues the Company has confronted."

Leading Light Wind was set to be about 40 miles off the coast of Long Beach Island, placing up to 100 turbines to power 1 million homes. It has already suffered issues, including being unable to find a turbine bland manufacturer.

The company "does not see a path forward for the LLW Project on this OREC award and looks to the future for possible solicitations," the letter reads.

But considering that other offshore wind farms, Atlantic Shores, Empire Wind 2 and Ocean Wind 1 and 2 have canceled their projects over the past two years, it doesn't seem likely that this farm will have future legs.

That's compounded with the Trump Administration's attack on offshore wind. On President Donald Trump's first day in office, he signed dozens of executive orders, including one that halted offshore wind development. Shortly after, New Jersey canceled its latest round of offshore wind solicitation, citing Trump.

Now, the only wind farm currently in development in New Jersey is Empire Wind, which is about 19 miles off the coast of Long Branch. That's faced its own issues, too, though the Trump Administration has allowed it to proceed.