(Long Beach, NJ ) Long Beach Township Mayor Joseph Mancini said he is disappointed that Gov. Phil Murphy failed to mention the state’s energy needs – or the controversy over offshore wind generation – in his State of the State message this week.
The mayor said that Murphy’s failure to address New Jersey’s energy issues has him on a collision course with the incoming Trump Administration, which will likely cut federal taxpayer-funded subsidies for wind power.

“The governor’s 7-year mantra about a fairer and stronger New Jersey is undermined by his stubborn refusal to truly examine the wind energy policy he imposed on the state, which will lead to tremendously higher utility bills for residents and businesses, and higher taxes for every property owner in the state – all of which will occur after he is gone from office,” said Mancini.

Mancini has been an outspoken critic of the state’s plan to allow construction of the massive Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind project. which is to be built less than 9 miles off the coast of Ocean and Atlantic counties. The mayor and his colleagues on Long Beach Island point to the great environmental damage and disruption to the shore areas’ tourist economy as just two factors the Murphy Administration has been ignoring.

However, Mancini says the true horror unleashed by offshore turbines is the cost; a fact not lost on Trump. President Trump has said that wind farms– “only work if you get a subsidy. The only people that want them are the people getting rich off of windmills,” according to a Wall Street Journal editorial on January 13.

New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd) is reported to be drafting an executive order to freeze wind subsidies for six months, giving the Trump Administration time to study the matter.
Mancini says there is little to study. “The disturbing facts are everywhere and they all point to the inescapable conclusion that massive subsidies for offshore wind will lead to incredibly high electric rates from an unreliable power source that will ultimately do little or nothing to appreciably reduce greenhouse gases – but will do a great deal to harm ratepayers and destroy our economy,” says Mancini.

The mayor points to a recent opinion article in the Wall Street Journal Bjorn Lomborg, president of the Copenhagen Consensus, where it was pointed out that: “The claim that green energy is cheaper relies on bogus math that measures the cost of electricity only when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing… The need for around the clock power – require backup, often powered by fossil fuels. That means we’re paying for two power systems: renewables and backup”.

Mancini says he and his shore area colleagues are worried that Murphy will ignore the evidence and the Trump Administration’s concerns — and forge ahead with his energy plan – the goal of which is to construct enough offshore wind farms to generate 11,000 megawatts of electricity – a goal many see as unattainable.

“The governor is tone deaf to the political, economic and environmental realities that are working against continuing huge public investment in offshore wind,” said Mancini. “The prevailing wind blowing out of Washington is to stop subsidizing wind power. The governor needs to recognize that fact and stop pursuing his unrealistic dream.”

Mancini said it’s not hard to draw parallels between Murphy and California Gov. Gavin Newsom – both liberals, who succumbed to the extreme woke positions on the environment. California is suffering the effects of its policies now; New Jersey will suffer from Murphy’s edicts a few years down the road if the offshore wind policy is not abandoned.

“Gov. Murphy created the state’s energy policy through executive orders – not through the legislature. He can reverse it and help create something better. I hope he has the wisdom to do it,” says Mancini.