Atlantic Shores Cancels Offshore Wind Projects

Atlantic Shores Cancels Offshore Wind Projects

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind has officially filed a request to terminate its Offshore Renewable Energy Certificate (OREC) Order with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), effectively pulling the plug on two major wind energy projects once planned for the waters off the coast of New Jersey.

You may remember that back in December, the Atlantic City Council approved the project during a four-hour meeting filled with passionate public comments.

While many local residents voiced concerns and opposition, several key stakeholders advocated for the project to move forward.

At the time, Atlantic Shores had proposed two large-scale wind farms off the coast of Atlantic City.

Together, these projects were expected to generate 2,800 megawatts of renewable energy, enough to power more than one million homes across New Jersey.

Project 1 was to be located roughly 8 to 20 miles offshore and include 157 wind turbines.

Power cables would have run from the ocean into Atlantic City, then followed the Black Horse Pike inland to connect with the grid in Egg Harbor Township. Some of this infrastructure was already being completed.

So, what went wrong?

According to Atlantic Shores, a combination of economic and political pressures rendered the projects unfeasible.

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Economically, inflation and rising interest rates significantly increased the cost of construction materials like steel, while ongoing global supply chain disruptions—largely linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine—added further strain.

On the political side, a major setback came in January when former President Donald Trump issued a memorandum pausing all federal permitting and approvals for offshore wind projects.

Following that order, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Appeals Board revoked the air permit previously granted to Atlantic Shores in 2024, effectively halting the start of construction.

In a formal filing to the NJBPU, Atlantic Shores’ attorney Adam L. Peterson noted that the company’s parent organization was forced to lay off employees, cancel contracts, and pull planned investments due to the shifting regulatory environment.

“Due to the uncertainty caused by the Presidential Wind Memorandum, the subsequent loss of the air permit, and other actions taken by the current administration more generally,” Peterson wrote, “the projects could no longer proceed.”

Does this mean we are completely out of the woods when it comes to wind power off the New Jersey coast? No. There are still other projects on the table.

One of those projects is Leading Light Wind which is in limbo after they asked for another delay for the project’s contract due to difficulties in securing essential equipment.

While progress has slowed, the vision of wind turbines rising off our coast isn’t dead—it’s just caught in a storm of uncertainty, waiting for clearer skies.

Do you want wind farms off the coast of New Jersey? Let us know.