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The US just greenlit the offshore wind farm Trump vowed to kill

Shell-EDF’s Atlantic Shores South is the US’s ninth commercial-scale, offshore wind farm approved under the Biden administration – Trump wants to cancel it. 

Atlantic Shores South consists of two wind farms — Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Project 1 and 2 — expected to generate up to 2,800 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to power nearly 1 million homes with clean energy.

It’s around 8.7 miles offshore New Jersey at its closest point. Up to 200 wind turbines and 10 offshore substations with subsea transmission cables were proposed, potentially making landfall in Atlantic City and Sea Girt, New Jersey. BOEM has approved the construction of up to 195 wind turbines. The project has a labor agreement with six New Jersey unions.

President Biden’s national climate adviser, Ali Zaidi, said, “The Biden-Harris administration will continue to use every available tool to grow the American offshore wind industry as we strengthen the nation’s power grid and tackle the climate crisis.” 

Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ) has set a goal for New Jersey to install 11 GW of offshore wind by 2040. It has 3.7 GW of offshore wind in the pipeline.

In May, Donald Trump told a MAGA rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, that he would stop the Atlantic Shores South offshore wind farm “on day one” with an executive order if he won the presidential election. ”You don’t have to worry about Governor Murphy’s 157 [sic] wind turbines,” he said.

Governor Maura Healey (D-MA) recently told the Financial Times that the upcoming election created “heightened urgency” to speed up the buildout of the sector – Massachusetts is a US offshore wind trailblazer – and that a Trump win would be “devastating” for the industry. However, New Jersey’s Murphy said that “government policy is a different reality than what people might say on the campaign trail.”

During the Biden administration, the US Interior Department has given the go-ahead to more than 13 GW of offshore wind — enough to power nearly 5 million homes.

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Avatar for Michelle Lewis Michelle Lewis

Michelle Lewis is a writer and editor on Electrek and an editor on DroneDJ, 9to5Mac, and 9to5Google. She lives in White River Junction, Vermont. She has previously worked for Fast Company, the Guardian, News Deeply, Time, and others. Message Michelle on Twitter or at michelle@9to5mac.com. Check out her personal blog.


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