TRENTON, NJ – Assemblywoman Bethanne McCarthy Patrick, the sole legislator residing in Salem County, is raising concerns over the credibility of Governor Phil Murphy following the cancellation of Orsted’s New Jersey offshore wind projects. The move has led residents to question the impact on job commitments and the state’s $25 million sublease agreement with Orsted for a wind port in Lower Alloways Creek.
Orsted, a Danish multinational energy company, abandoned its plans for two New Jersey offshore wind projects, Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2, citing supply chain issues and increasing interest rates. McCarthy Patrick expressed that the failed projects have real implications for the local job market.
According to the Murphy administration, the sublease agreement with Orsted was projected to create 200 jobs at the wind port in Lower Alloways Creek. “People living here don’t have the means to just pick up and move on like Orsted did. Our livelihoods can’t come at the expense of Murphy’s policies that failed to benefit locals,” McCarthy Patrick said.
In June, the assemblywoman criticized a proposal to allocate millions in federal tax credits to Orsted instead of returning them to utility customers. She also noted the lack of tangible economic gains in South Jersey from the state’s offshore wind initiatives, citing the absence of American labor and reliance on foreign imports.
Orsted had also agreed to be the first client at EEW American Offshores Structures’ manufacturing facility at the Port of Paulsboro Marine Terminal in Gloucester County. However, delays at the facility resulted in most of the hardware and labor for wind turbine support structures coming from overseas.
“South Jersey deserves real investments and good paying jobs, not phony deals and broken promises,” McCarthy Patrick concluded.
