TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said this week that Republicans across the state complaining about wind farms and whales missed their mark with voters he claims were able to read between the lines and decipher the lies.
The governor also unleashed on Orsted, the wind energy company that pulled the plug on the offshore wind farms in New Jersey, saying the company owes the state $300 million, and he’s going to make sure New Jersey gets that money. Murphy admits he is still not sure why Orsted canceled the Ocean Wind 1 & 2 projects.
“They really pissed me off; they really let us down,” Murphy said. “They didn’t live up to their word. I’m not sure as to why New Jersey and not others, they just pulled out, and I’m not sure why, but we’re going to make them pay. I’m sure there will be a big legal fight over what is ultimately a $300 million swing that they owe us.”
Murphy said Republicans’ claims of a billion-dollar deal are not true and that their misleading the voters on Election Day contributed to their heavy losses statewide.
“We didn’t give them a dime the money that changes hands is coming from them to us,” he added. “Because they didn’t do what they said they would do.”
Murphy said the voters didn’t fall for the GOP playbook on Tuesday.
“Voters are smart,” the governor added. “They’re a lot smarter than the other guys are giving them credit for. The facts are the facts. People believe we care about whales, that we’ll follow the science and facts, and that we’re not giving them a billion dollars.”
The future of the project is in jeopardy now. Murphy says the BPU has other companies interested in the leases held by Orsted, but those companies would have first to secure the leases currently owned by the Danish company, making the prospect of a long, costly, and difficult lawsuit a reality to move the project forward again.
The good news is, this is just a bump in the road,” Murphy added. “We’re still here alive and this is going to happen. This industry has been more hit by inflation and supply chain issues than any other that I’m aware of…there’s a lot of folks interested.”
The state, Murphy says, is going to go after the owed $300 million with a vengeance, but at the same time, Orsted still holds the keys to the governor’s offshore clean energy goals at this time.
“We’re going to fight it like heck,” Murphy said.
Murphy said Republicans cheering for the failure of the wind energy project shot themselves in the foot because they were celebrating the loss of thousands of union jobs.
“What is your plan b for the south Jersey economy?” Murphy asked. “The other side doesn’t have a plan.”
