Congressman Christopher H. Smith, District 4 | Official U.S. House headshot
Congressman Christopher H. Smith, District 4 | Official U.S. House headshot
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) issued a statement in response to the Biden-Harris Administration’s approval of the construction and operations plan for the Atlantic Shores South offshore wind proposal.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has foolishly greenlighted a catastrophe in the making by approving the construction and operations plan for the Atlantic Shores South offshore wind project," said Smith.
Smith criticized the decision, citing safety concerns from previous projects. “Allowing this project to move forward with construction when other projects have been blatantly unsafe and unviable makes no sense whatsoever,” he stated.
He referenced an incident from this past summer where beaches in Massachusetts were littered with large, sharp fiberglass shards following a blade failure from a Vineyard Wind turbine. He also noted that just last week, the manufacturer of these blades announced layoffs affecting up to 900 workers due to industrywide challenges for offshore wind.
Smith pointed out that another offshore wind project in New Jersey had to pause its activities at least through December because it could not secure a viable turbine blade manufacturer.
“To add insult to injury, the approval of each new offshore wind project means higher electricity costs for New Jersey ratepayers,” Smith added.
He concluded his statement by urging both the Biden-Harris Administration and Governor Murphy to reconsider their support for these projects. “It’s long past time the Biden-Harris Administration and Governor Murphy come to their senses and stop propelling this train wreck in slow motion.”
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