Above:‘Undetermined bacteria’ kills Menhaden fish in Raritan Bay, Navesink River

The developer of New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm plans to run the project’s power lines beneath Island Beach State Park, across Barnegat Bay and connect to the power grid at the former Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, according to plans submitted to the Federal Office of Ocean Energy. Management.

Ørsted, the Danish electricity company that proposes to build 98 wind turbines southwest of Atlantic City, has asked the office to build an offshore wind farm large enough to supply electricity to half a million homes.

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If approved, the construction of a wind farm would involve digging a tunnel under Island Beach State Park and laying power lines under the auxiliary parking lot in Swimming Area 2. From there, power lines would pass to the southwest under the bottom of Barnegat Bay and would connect to the network at the bathing area. former Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, which ceased generating electricity in 2019.

Power lines would run along Bay Parkway and Lighthouse Drive in Waretown.

The wind farm would also be connected to the grid at the site of the former BL England coal-fired power plant in Upper Township, Cape May County. This factory closed in 2019.

“We think these places are some of the best places to bring that energy,†Jeff Tittel, director of the environmental group, New Jersey Sierra Club, said in a statement. “There are already substations and transmission lines in place to connect, which means new lines won’t have to be built.”

Østed’s application to the federal office is the final step in a series of federal and state approvals needed to move the power company’s project forward.

Last month, the White House said the office would prepare an environmental impact statement on Ørsted’s Ocean Wind project and that the Federal Ministry of Energy would provide loans of up to $ 3 billion to offshore wind developers.

If approved, construction on Ocean Wind would begin in 2023, according to plans by the power company.

In a public hearing with the office, the Environment New Jersey nonprofit group supported the proposal.

“We don’t have time to waste,†said Hayley Berliner, clean energy associate at Environment New Jersey. “Rather than continuing on the path of catastrophic sea level rise and flooding, we can instead start to mitigate that by replacing our fossil fuel with clean, renewable offshore wind power. New Jersey is ideally positioned. to be the national leader in this sector. “

Last year, Governor Phil Murphy set a goal of establishing 7,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035.

Amanda Oglesby is from Ocean County which covers the townships of Brick, Barnegat and Lacey as well as the environment. She has worked for the press for over a decade. Contact her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.