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In New Jersey, wind energy, liquid gas projects move forward

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Wind energy companies proposed projects off New Jersey’s ocean coast Thursday, as an environmental group vowed to appeal approval of a hotly contested liquefied natural gas terminal on the Delaware River.

Orsted, the European wind energy firm, said Thursday it has submitted a bid to build “Ocean Wind 2,” a wind farm that would generate 2,400 megawatts of electricity — more than twice the amount of a separate project for which it already has been approved off the coast of Atlantic City.

The company’s original 1,100-megawatt Ocean Wind project will produce power for half a million homes.

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In a statement, Orsted said Thursday’s bid includes what it considers significant investments into New Jersey’s offshore wind manufacturing capabilities, though it did not give dollar figures.

In September, New Jersey State Senate President Steve Sweeney and two other legislators asked the state Board of Public Utilities to suspend approval of Orsted’s original project off Atlantic City and to consider whether to replace the company. They said Orsted has not delivered enough economic benefits to the state and local communities, which the company disputed.

Also Thursday, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind proposed an offshore wind farm between Atlantic City and Barnegat Light capable of powering 1 million homes with up to 2,300 megawatts of electricity.

It is a joint venture between EDF Renewables North America and EDF Renewables North America.

The deadline for submitting project bids to the BPU in the latest round was 5 p.m. Thursday.

At the state’s opposite coastline along the Delaware River, environmental groups are smarting from a regional commission’s Wednesday approval of a port to handle liquefied natural gas shipments in a section of Greenwich Township in Gloucester County at the site of a former DuPont explosives plant.

The Delaware River Basin Commission upheld its initial approval of the plan, which was proposed by Delaware River Partners, a subsidiary of New Fortress Energy, to provide a transit point for liquefied natural gas by rail, truck and boat.

Tracy Carluccio, a spokesperson for Delaware Riverkeeper, said Thursday the environmental group will appeal the decision in federal court. She said the group, which challenged the proposal in regulatory proceedings, did not receive a fair hearing.

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NJ and regional grid operator PJM explore bringing wind power ashore

Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight

New Jersey is joining with the nation’s largest electrical grid operator to try to answer one of the big questions in offshore wind: how to bring the power from wind farms to customers at an affordable cost.

The agreement with PJM Interconnection, a regional grid operator the state has often battled with in recent years, will allow the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to open a competitive bidding process early next year to build transmission facilities for future wind farms.

Such an arrangement is viewed by state officials as potentially a more cost-effective and environmentally benign way of bringing the wind energy ashore. It could also result in the building of an offshore wind transmission backbone that would allow developers to wheel power to where demand is the highest, one of the biggest disputes in advancing the sector.

Costs of coming ashore

The issue of transmission costs — the expense of bringing electricity onshore and the upgrades needed to the current transmission systems to accommodate more power on their lines — is one of the biggest unknowns in offshore-wind development. The solution has big implications for ratepayers, who will pay for those farms.

A study earlier this year by the Business Network of Offshore Wind projected if all of the offshore wind farms proposed in New Jersey and four other coastal states are built, it would result in offshore transmission costs of between $15 billion and $20 billion.

For years, some companies have advocated building an offshore backbone wind-transmission facility, including a Google-funded initiative for one stretching from Virginia to New Jersey. Without support from states, however, the project has been shelved, although other companies have proposed building it.

In New Jersey, the state’s first offshore wind farm will be a 1,100-megawatt facility off Atlantic City developed by Ørsted. The company will build its own interconnections with onshore transmission facilities, a model to be used in next offshore wind solicitation later this year.

State officials said the new approach will help ensure New Jersey achieves the goal of 7,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035. “By exploring offshore wind transmission options … we’ll work collaboratively with PJM to identify potential solutions that meets the state’s needs and ensure the best value for ratepayers,’’ said BPU President Joseph Fiordaliso.

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Post-hearing briefs mostly support larger wind turbines off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland

East Coast Offshore Wind Projects Take Giant Steps | 2019-09-20 ...

By Shawn Soper Ocean City (Md) Dispatch

OCEAN CITY — Independent stakeholders in one of two offshore wind projects appear to have little concern with the significantly larger turbines selected, according to briefs filed with the Maryland Public Service Commission following a hearing last month.

In June, the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) held an evidentiary hearing on the proposed change in wind turbine size for Orsted’s Skipjack project off the coast of Ocean City. The evidentiary hearing was called when Skipjack announced its intention to switch from the previously proposed eight-megawatt turbines to the much larger 12-megawatt turbine, now believed to be the largest commercial wind turbine available.

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When Skipjack moved to the 12-megawatt turbine, the Town of Ocean City urged the PSC to hold an evidentiary hearing on the proposed turbine change. After a well-attended public hearing in Ocean City in January, the PSC agreed to hold the evidentiary hearing and it took place virtually in early June.

Last week, several weeks after that evidentiary hearing, the interested and participating parties filed post-hearing briefs with the PSC outlining their positions on the issues at hand. Naturally, the Town of Ocean City and Skipjack stuck to their long-held positions, but perhaps the most interesting conclusions came in the briefs filed by neutral third parties. For example, in its brief filed last week, the staff of the PSC agreed with Skipjack’s contention moving to the larger turbines will result in fewer turbines moved further out in the approved Wind Energy Area (WEA).

“The decision to increase the size of the wind turbines from eight megawatts to 12 megawatts will reduce the number of wind turbines needed for the 120-megawatt project from 15 to 12 or fewer turbines,” the brief reads. “By reducing the number of turbines, the distance from the Maryland shoreline to the nearest turbine could be increased from 19.5 miles to 22.7 miles.”

In its brief, the PSC concluded despite the proposed change in turbine height, the Skipjack project still met the standards laid out in the state’s legislation approved seven years ago.

“The increase in wind turbine size thus is not only consistent with the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013, but it would also reduce the impact upon the environment and should reduce total costs of the project to Maryland ratepayers,” the brief reads.

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New Jersey looking to go big on offshore wind

Anmar Frangoul reports for CNBC

KEY POINTS

New Jersey’s governor, Phil Murphy, signed the executive order on Tuesday.
The offshore wind energy market in the U.S. is still relatively nascent, although a number of major projects are now in the pipeline.

GP: Block Island Wind Farm — The Block Island Wind Farm, located off the coast of Block Island, RI, is pictured on Jun. 13, 2017.David L. Ryan | Boston Globe | Getty Images

The Governor of New Jersey has signed an executive order to increase the state’s target for “offshore wind-generated electricity.”

The order, which was signed by Phil Murphy Tuesday, ups the target from 3,500 megawatts (MW) by 2030 to 7,500 MW by the year 2035.

“There is no other renewable energy resource that provides us with either the electric-generation or economic-growth potential of offshore wind,” Governor Murphy said in a statement.

“When we reach our goal of 7,500 megawatts, New Jersey’s offshore wind infrastructure will generate electricity to power more than 3.2 million homes and meet fifty percent of our state’s electric power need,” he added.

In a statement issued Thursday, the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) Laura Smith Morton described the announcement from New Jersey as “a significant commitment to offshore wind-generated electricity and clean energy.“

Smith Morton, who is the AWEA’s senior director, policy and regulatory affairs, went on to state that the East Coast was “leading the U.S. in establishing offshore wind as the next major American energy source.”

According to the International Energy Agency’s Offshore Wind Outlook 2019, global investment in the offshore wind sector in 2018 was roughly $20 billion, compared to under $8 billion in 2010.

In the U.S., however, the offshore wind market is still relatively nascent. The country’s first offshore wind farm, the five turbine, 30 MW Block Island Wind Farm off Rhode Island, only commenced commercial operations in late 2016.

Major projects are in the pipeline, however. Danish firm Orsted, for instance, is developing the 120 MW Skipjack facility off the Maryland coast and the 1,100 MW Ocean Wind project off the coast of New Jersey. It’s expected that the facilities will be commissioned in 2022 and 2024 respectively.

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PSEG Looks to Become Active Player in Offshore Wind Development

The energy company is set to acquire a significant interest in 1,100-megawatt wind farm

The wind farm in which PSEG is set to acquire an interest is expected to be commissioned in 2024.

TOM JOHNSON reports for NJ Spotlight – OCTOBER 30, 2019

Public Service Enterprise Group is looking to get back into offshore wind, and will enter into exclusive negotiations with Ørsted to acquire a one-quarter interest in its yet to be built 1,100-megawatt wind farm off Atlantic City.

The $1.6 billion Ocean Wind project is the first offshore wind farm approved in New Jersey. Located 15 miles off Atlantic City, it is projected to supply more than a half-million homes with power. The wind farm is expected to be commissioned in 2024, subject to permitting and other factors.

The two companies’ announcement late in the day was a bit of a surprise, considering PSEG and Ørsted had previously disclosed the former had an option to buy an equity interest in the wind farm project this spring.

In a joint press release, the companies appeared to indicate the process of negotiations might be far along, although an Ørsted spokesman declined to confirm that this was the case.

“Given PSEG’s track record for success and history providing energy solutions for communities across the Mid-Atlantic region, we are thrilled at the prospect of having them join the Ocean Wind project,’’ said Thomas Brostrøm, president of Ørsted North America and CEO of Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind.

Ørsted has emerged as the biggest force in the nascent offshore wind market in the United States, operating the first offshore wind facility in the country off Block Island in Rhode Island. It also has been awarded commitments to build more than 2,900 MW of capacity in six other projects along the Eastern Seaboard.

“We are pleased about the opportunity to explore a partnership with Ørsted, a world leader in offshore wind development, and help New Jersey achieve its goal of carbon-free generation by 2050,’’ said Ralph LaRossa, president and chief operating officer of PSEG Power, a subsidiary of PSEG.

Offshore wind is a key, if not most crucial component of Gov. Phil Murphy’s goal of converting to a clean energy economy. By 2030, the administration wants to build 3,500 MW of offshore wind off the Jersey coast.

PSEG changes tack

At one time, PSEG appeared poised to be a big player in the offshore wind sector, cementing a partnership more than a decade ago with developer Deepwater Wind, which Ørsted acquired a year ago. When former Gov. Chris Christie’s administration backed away from promoting offshore wind, PSEG seemed to steer away from the sector.

After the Deepwater acquisition, it was disclosed that PSEG had agreed to provide Ørsted with energy management services, which included allowing the Danish developer to lease land for use in its project development. The lease is expected to provide land around PSEG’s three nuclear units in Salem County to assemble the huge turbines for the wind farms.

In a quarterly earnings call this spring, PSEG CEO Ralph Izzo talked more about the company’s interest in building transmission for offshore wind, instead of developing the wind farms offshore. Nevertheless, PSEG, more than any other power company in the state, has embraced the Murphy administration’s goal of transitioning to 100% clean energy by 2050 and has the financial resources to commit to that target.

The announcement also came on a day when Ørsted shares dropped 8% after the company announced long-term production values from its offshore wind farms may have miscalculated how much power they could produce.

“Today’s announcement is unrelated to our announcement updating our long-term financial targets,’’ said Cam Stoker, a spokesman for Ørsted.

PSEG did not respond to calls for comment.

Clean energy advocates were not surprised by the announcement. “This is the epitome of ‘if you can’t beat them, join them,’’’ said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. “This is a sign that offshore wind is no longer a niche market.’’

Paul Patterson, an energy analyst with Glenrock Associates who follows PSEG, however, cautioned PSEG will likely be very conservative in its investment in offshore wind. “It is a lot different kettle of fish than building on land for wind energy,’’ he said.

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US fishermen demand to be heard on offshore wind energy projects

While they support efforts to fight climate change, the fishing industry says wind farms could dramatically impact how and where they fish

Commercial fishing boat Ann Kathryn sails into Manasquan inlet ion Sep 11, 2019 Wayne Parry AP photo

Wayne Parry reports for the Associated Press
The story appeared in the Christian Science Monitor

WILDWOOD, N.J. Fishermen insisted Monday to a congressional subcommittee looking at offshore wind energy that they be consulted when crucial decisions are being made on the development of such projects, including where they are located and the level of access to the waters near them.

Fishermen should have been brought into the planning process from the start, Peter Hughes, of Atlantic Cape Fisheries, told U.S. House members from New Jersey and California who were holding a hearing at the Jersey Shore.

“Look at these slides,” he said, referring to diagrams of where proposed wind projects would be built. “They’re right smack dab where we are fishing. This is going to put people out of business.”

The purpose of the hearing was to gather input from the fishing industry and its advocates to be considered in future regulation of the nascent wind energy market. So far, a single five-turbine wind farm off Block Island, Rhode Island, is the only operating offshore wind farm in the United States, but states up and down the East Coast are readying plans for similar projects.

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Capt. Ed Yates, a fisherman from Barnegat Light, New Jersey, said flounder, cod, and other species have moved away from underground cables at a wind project off Denmark.

“How does offshore wind energy affect the fishing industry?” he asked. “The answer we get from the wind operators is ‘We won’t fully understand the impacts until the facilities are already built.'”

Frederick Zalcman, head of government affairs for Orsted, the European wind farm operator currently planning projects on the U.S. East Coast, said the company has met with fishing interests and will continue to do so.

Orsted recently changed plan specifications in Massachusetts and New York, he said, “at considerable time and expense to the company” to address concerns from fishermen. They included reconfiguring the design of a Massachusetts plan to allow fishing boats to better maneuver around and between turbines, and changing the location where a power cable came ashore in New York.

As additional plans are developed, he said, “we will have to prove ourselves” in terms of listening to the fishing industry.

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance formed last year to represent the interests of the fishing industry regarding offshore wind. The group’s executive director, Annie Hawkins, said more scientific studies are needed, adding there has been virtually no public discussion of important questions like how wind energy projects would be dismantled after reaching the end of their lifespans.

The hearing was chaired by Rep. Alan Lowenthal, a California Democrat, and Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Democrat who represents the area of southern New Jersey including the productive Cape May fishing port.

Southern New Jersey’s port is second in the nation after the New Bedford, Massachusetts, area in terms of the value of seafood brought ashore each year, fishermen at Monday’s hearing said.

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Offshore wind company to bring its power ashore at Oyster Creek

Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight

The approval could cut the cost of linking offshore wind farm to the region’s energy transmission system

Offshore wind turbine — Credit: U.S. DOE Installation of offshore wind turbine

Ocean Wind LLC, the developer of the state’s first offshore wind farm, has secured the rights to bring power ashore at the former Oyster Creek nuclear station, a move advocates say could reduce the project’s costs to connect to the region’s transmission system.

Ørsted, the owner of Ocean Wind, won approval from the New Jersey Board of Utilities this past June to build a 1,100-megawatt, $1.6 billion offshore-wind facility about 15 miles from the coast of Atlantic City.

The state agency last week approved Ocean Wind’s purchase of so-called capacity interconnection rights to bring the power from the wind farm to the nuclear power station in Lacey Township. Exelon, the former owner of the plant, gave its OK to the scheme.

The precise cost of the transmission grades and how much ratepayers will kick in are undecided. That’s because the exact nature of the improvements to the transmission system has not been determined, according to Cam Stoker, communications manager for Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind.

Total costs in question

In a BPU order in June, the state said the company projected the costs of the transmission upgrades would run from $36 million to $130 million, but could go as high as $174 million. Those costs were not factored into the subsidy utility customers will pay to Ocean Wind.

Ocean Wind will pay the first $10 million of transmission costs. From there to $130 million, Ocean Wind will incur 70 percent of the costs with 30 percent recovered from ratepayers. From $130 million to $174 million, the costs will be split between the developer and ratepayers. After $174 million, ratepayers will pay 100 percent of the costs.

Both the BPU and New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel said securing interconnection rights at Oyster Creek, where existing transmission capacity already exists, is a good deal for ratepayers. In a board order last week, the agency said obtaining the rights has the potential to “yield significant economic benefits for New Jersey ratepayers through lower transmission system upgrades.’’

Ocean Wind agreed. It estimated the difference between the cost of the rights at the price indicated and any remaining upgrade costs would be approximately $25 million less than the estimated upgrade costs without their purchase of those rights.

Rate Counsel Stefanie Brand said there is a good chance the formula and cost allocation will save money. “Overall, I think it will be cheaper for the ratepayer,’’ Brand said.

The board will still retain oversight of the “true-up’’ costs related to the final transmission expenses.

This is the first offshore-wind project, expected to be online in 2024, approved by the state, although it intends to hold further solicitations next year and 2022 to help achieve Gov. Phil Murphy’s goal of 3,500 megawatts of offshore-wind capacity by 2030.

The state has yet to decide whether to build an offshore wind-transmission backbone to wheel power among New Jersey and other states trying to build offshore wind farms.

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Former Gov. Jim Florio sees a promising future for New Jersey’s environment and economy

We’re at the start of a new movement, and N.J. is leading it

By Former New Jersey Governor Jim Florio

To effectuate major public policy changes, it is helpful, if not essential, for a citizen movement to lead the cause. The civil rights movement, the women’s rights movement, and the gay rights movement are obvious examples. Movements of this sort entail mobilizing people — real average people — to become engaged in and informed about the substantive policy direction that needs to be taken.

“Engaged in” because that’s our political system: participatory democracy. The system doesn’t work by itself, as the time it took to win those battles and others proves we have to work at making it work. Becoming informed about the policy is especially necessary today because the issues are becoming more complex and the policy alternatives so numerous. You can’t fix the problem if you don’t understand the problem.

I was pleased as a young state legislator in the late 1960s to be part of such a movement. One that sought to lift the level of public awareness to the problems associated with almost a century of industrialization that was unmindful of environmental considerations. The results were a host of abnormalities: rivers caught on fire, polluted communities had to be abandoned, hazardous water and air disasters occurred.

New Jersey at the center of the chemical and petro-chemical industries until the 1950s, suffered more than its share from polluters’ ignorance or blatant disregard for public health or safety. We had, and still have, more Superfund hazardous waste sites than any other state.

In her groundbreaking book, “Silent Spring” (1962), Rachel Carson wrote about pesticides causing wildlife deaths and challenged the nation to become engaged and informed. Arguably, that was the birth of the environmental movement as we know it today.

Policies changed, thoughtful people stopped debating whether or not we wanted a strong economy or a healthy environment because they came to see that we need and can have both.

I sense we are at the start of a reawakening – a new movement – that will build around a cluster of environmental issues that will revolve around climate change. A key component will involve being around safe, clean and affordable energy sources in general and offshore wind power in particular.

We are at the beginning of an era of clean offshore wind power generation that is totally new for the United States and New Jersey, but proven and established in Europe for over 20 years with installation of over 4,000 wind turbines and employment of over 80,000 people.

New Jersey is in the process of becoming the leader – if not already the leader – in bringing this industry to the U.S. More work has been done in less than two years under Governor Murphy than in the previous eight years. Ørsted, a Danish company, and the global leader in offshore wind, is planning an 1100 megawatt “Wind Farm” 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City that will be the third such largest facility in the world!

The new clean energy environmentalism will yield benefits for public health and in the effort to cope with climate change. I believe that many people cannot yet fully appreciate the extent of the economic benefits that will come from what amounts to a whole new business sector – not just the turbines and the resulting union labor jobs, but a whole business chain that includes: offshore wind port development, marine activities/services, fabrication and manufacturing, research technical and workforce development and training. We should all be missionaries for this cause. Those who lead this movement will look back years from now and be proud they were there at the beginning. Let us begin…

James J. Florio, Esq. is founding partner at the law firm of Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Cappelli, LLC and the 49th governor of the state of New Jersey, serving from 1990-1994.

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Event speakers emphasize NJ’s ability to lead offshore wind industry

Alex Wolmart reports for ROI

Atlantic City | Aug 19, 2019 — Over 240 offshore wind energy supporters attended Time for Turbines III at the Stockton University Atlantic City campus on Friday.

“We have the resources and capacity to be the national frontrunner in the offshore wind industry,” state Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) said at the event. “As the renewable energy sector of the economy grows, we have an obligation not only to our environment but to New Jersey workers to make it a priority.”

Jersey Renews, a coalition of labor, community and environmental organizations, and Maryland-based nonprofit the Business Network for Offshore Wind partnered for the event and what they called a day full of information-sharing and networking to support the development of a just and sustainable offshore wind industry in the state.

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“Given the impacts and urgency of climate change that we are facing on the shoreline, it is inspiring to see all of the ways that state government and the offshore wind industry are working together to bring utility-scale clean energy to ratepayers as soon as possible,” said Liz Burdock, executive director, Business Network for Offshore Wind.

Gov. Phil Murphy announced his signing of Executive Order No. 79 establishing the New Jersey WIND Institute from a video recording at the event before offshore wind developers, state officials, labor leaders and environmentalists delivered presentations on the industry’s progress in the last year and future developments.

“The broad coalition of stakeholders here today from New Jersey’s business, labor and environmental communities underscores the importance of the offshore wind industry to our state,” U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said.

State Board of Public Utilities President Joseph Fiordaliso spoke about the BPU’s Energy Master Plan and Offshore Wind Strategic Plan as ongoing projects.

“As the serious impacts of the climate crisis are arriving much more quickly than anticipated, it is imperative to do all we can to mitigate those effects,” he said.

State Economic Development Authority CEO Tim Sullivan and Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo delivered opening remarks, which turned into a state government panel with officials from the Governor’s Office, BPU, Department of Environmental Protection and EDA.

“New Jersey is poised to become the nation’s leader in offshore wind generation,” BPU Commissioner Bob Gordon said. “Not only will the state reap the benefits of clean, reliable and renewable power, but we will create a whole new industry that will produce thousands of high-skilled jobs, rebuild our manufacturing sector and revitalize our ports.”

Another top panel at the event consisted of the offshore wind developers, including Denmark-based Ørsted, Atlantic City-based offshore wind firm Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind and Norway-based energy company Equinor.

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“The economic benefits and supply chain opportunities that come as part of this new industry will have long-lasting effects throughout the region and the country,” said Lauren Burm, head of public affairs and communications, Ørsted North America.

A green transportation panel in the afternoon, chaired by Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey, talked again about the state’s potential in the offshore wind industry.

“New Jersey has a clean energy gold mine of offshore wind right off the Jersey Shore, and we are on the cusp of tapping this renewable energy to power our state and region,” O’Malley said.

A labor panel at the event was moderated by Debra Coyle McFadden, executive director, New Jersey Work Environment Council, and included an assistant commissioner at the Department of Labor & Workforce Development and leaders from the Carpenters, United Steelworkers, Blue Green Alliance and IBEW unions.

The event also received major organizational support from Environment New Jersey, the New Jersey Work Environment Council, Stockton University and the Energy Foundation.

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New York contracts for nation’s largest supply of offshore wind energy

The only commercial offshore wind farm in the United States is near Block Island, R.I. CreditCreditChang W. Lee/The New York Times

Ivan Penn reports for the New York Times

New York State, which last month passed an ambitious law to reduce the emissions that cause climate change, said Thursday that it had reached an agreement for two large offshore wind projects.

The wind projects, to be built off the coast of Long Island, represent a big step forward for a technology that has been slow to take off in the United States because of local opposition and high costs. Experts have said offshore turbines, which are used extensively in Northern Europe, hold great promise because the wind tends to be stronger and more consistent offshore than on land.

Wind farms are a major energy source in the United States, providing about 7 percent of all electricity last year, up from about 2 percent in 2010. But almost all of those turbines are on land. By comparison, Britain expects to get 10 percent of its electricity from offshore wind next year, up from less than 1 percent in 2010.

The New York projects will start operation within the next five years and have the capacity to produce 1,700 megawatts of electricity, accounting for about 20 percent of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s overall goal for offshore wind.

The wind projects, one of which will be 14 miles south of Jones Beach and the other 30 miles north of Montauk, are meant to be an important part of the state’s plan to get 70 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The projects will be built by a division of Equinor, the Norwegian oil and gas company, and a joint venture between Orsted, a Danish company, and Eversource Energy, an American firm.

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“With this agreement, New York will lead the way in developing the largest source of offshore wind power in the nation,” Mr. Cuomo said. “Today we are true to the New York legacy — to lead the way forward, to govern with vision and intelligence, to set a new standard and to match our words with action.”

Mr. Cuomo also signed a bill on Thursday that the Legislature passed last month requiring New York to eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Developers of offshore wind farms have long struggled to win the support of Americans. Some projects foundered because electricity from offshore turbines generally costs a lot more than power from turbines on land. Politicians and coastal-property owners have also successfully opposed projects that they claimed would obstruct the picturesque views from East Coast shorelines.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the liberal Massachusetts Democrat, who died in 2009, famously opposed a proposed offshore wind installation near Cape Cod. Other elected officials, including President Trump, have also objected to wind farms. (Mr. Trump, who once called climate change a “hoax,” unsuccessfully opposed an offshore wind project near one of his golf courses in Scotland.)

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Costs of coming ashore

PSEG changes tack

Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight

Total costs in question

We’re at the start of a new movement, and N.J. is leading it

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