New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities and Department of Environmental Protection on Wednesday approved $2 million in funding to study the impact of offshore wind development on marine life.

The funds, part of the $26 million Offshore Wind Research and Monitoring Initiative (RMI), will pay for projects that include deployment of a whale detection buoy, as well as studies to evaluate general species diversity in offshore wind development areas and better understand offshore movement of harbor seals, the agencies said in a release.

The funds will additionally pay for the state to join the Responsible Offshore Science Alliance, a nonprofit organization leading a collaborative effort to advance fish and fisheries research related to offshore wind.

The RMI program is jointly administered by the two agencies and is funded with contributions of $10,000 for each megawatt of capacity from the two projects approved by the BPU in the state’s second OSW solicitation. The $2 million in additional expenditures take the total spent from the fund to $8.5 million.

The addition of the new projects comes as the state undertakes a third solicitation for offshore wind projects, with the potential to increase OSW project approvals to substantially above the 3.758-GW capacity already approved. The latest solicitation, opened on March 6, could award between 1.2 and 4 GW, and perhaps more, according to the BPU’s solicitation guidance document. (See NJ Opens Third OSW Solicitation Seeking 4 GW+.)

The advance of the projects has stoked opposition from commercial fishers, coastal residents and the tourist and other industries, with opponents seizing on a series of whale deaths along the New Jersey shore to raise concerns about the impact of the growing wind sector on marine life. Opponents have held several protests, and two of the state’s Republican congressmen, Reps. Jeff Van Drew and Chris Smith, held a hearing on the issue, calling for a halt to the offshore wind projects.

Although little work has started on the OSW projects, environmentalists concerned about marine life say the studies and ocean floor analysis advance work could have impacted the whales by generating noise undersea.  

Responsible Development

Federal marine authorities have said they see no connection between OSW developments and whale deaths, and state officials have shown no signs of slowing the projects’ development.

The state, however, has paid increasing attention to efforts to gauge the impact on marine life, approving more than $3.4 million in March for three initiatives to research the impact on wildlife and fisheries. (See NJ Awards $3.4M to Study the Marine Impact of Turbines.)

Shawn M. LaTourette, the state’s commissioner of environmental protection, said the OSW projects are key to mitigating the effects of climate change, and the newly announced marine studies will work to mitigate any impact on marine wildlife.

“These projects will continue to advance the collection of baseline scientific information that will help ensure the responsible development and operation of offshore wind facilities that protect our coastline and its natural resources,” he said.

The whale detection buoy funded in the newly announced expenditure of RMI funds will listen for whales, and detections will be reviewed and used to mitigate risks associated with vessel strikes and future construction noise, according to the BPU and DEP.

Another study will look at environmental DNA (eDNA) to monitor species that “are protected or otherwise important to maintaining the ecological integrity of coastal waters and are important to New Jersey’s recreational and commercial fisheries,” the two agencies said.

A third study will collect data on the movement patterns and health of seals that spend the winter in the Great Bay area north of Atlantic City.  “This study will tag and collect baseline health data for harbor seals, such as stress hormones, that should help assess the impacts of future OSW-related activities, including construction and operation, on harbor seals,” the agencies said.

BPU President Joseph Fiordaliso said the projects would “assist us in protecting the environment as we move forward to reach Governor [Phil] Murphy’s goal of 11 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2040.”