Exploring the future of offshore wind subsidies and 5G tower installations along New Jersey’s coast as new political dynamics emerge.
By Jim Lonergan
Published November 8, 2024 at 5:40 PM
SEA GIRT, SPRING LAKE, MANASQUAN, NJ - With the recent Federal, State, County, and local elections almost behind us, several major issues remain at the forefront for Gold Coast towns. Key concerns include offshore wind projects, Verizon 5G tower installations, upcoming flood elevation changes that will impact coastal homes and property values, and the ongoing demand for affordable housing in already dense areas. This article will focus on two pressing topics: offshore wind and 5G cell tower installation.
From an offshore wind perspective, federal subsidies are crucial to the future of New Jersey's offshore wind projects, with their fate hinging on political decisions. Any reduction or elimination of these subsidies, from President Biden’s current support to President-elect Trump’s intent to remove them, would likely determine the outcome of offshore wind initiatives along the Jersey Coast. The economic viability of offshore wind is already precarious—evident when wind developer Orsted withdrew from its NJ project in October 2023 due to “lack of economics.”
It was speculated by many that the bidding solicitation rounds have been delayed by wind developers and the Murphy Administration pending the outcome of the recent Presidential election. Said Sea Girt Mayor Don Fetzer, “the solicitation rounds kept getting pushed back from June into the 3rd quarter of 2024, then into the 4th quarter, which we are almost halfway through. Obviously, the election results could have a material impact on offshore wind direction. Coupled that with the multitude of unknown and unanswered questions that still remained. Click HERE for a view on costs and subsidies.
Without federal subsidies, these state-driven offshore wind projects will likely halt any forward development of offshore wind projects, as the economics are unsustainable without federal support. This is in sharp contrast to the current Biden administration, which has backed the use of taxpayer funds to support offshore wind projects. Presidential candidate Trump, however, has made his stance on offshore wind clear. His platform includes plans to eliminate wind energy subsidies and halt offshore wind projects, calling them "horrible," "the most expensive energy there is," and claiming they harm marine life, including birds and whales. President-elect Trump's campaign announced Thursday that energy policy will be one of his top two priorities for executive orders on Day 1, following recent comments from both Trump and Elon Musk about cutting into the $1 trillion allocated to clean energy. In a previous article on our offshore wind energy series, we quoted, “As O'Donnell and the Biden and Murphy administrations have pointed out, these subsidies are crucial because, without them, offshore wind projects would not be viable.” Click HERE to read the full story.
At the Congressional level, the congressional representative for District 4, Rep. Chris Smith has been an outspoken critic of offshore wind, as has Congressional Rep Jeff Van Drew from District 2, who represents much of the southern Jersey Shore. We reached out to Smith's office and he said, “When Trump came to Wildwood and appeared elsewhere, we were greatly encouraged that Trump recognized and raised concerns about the reckless offshore wind projects aiming to industrialize our ocean. They will saddle ratepayers in New Jersey with massive price increases while harming our national security and environment. At my request, the GAO has been investigating the many deleterious impacts of these projects, and I look forward to continuing my efforts with the Trump Administration to expose their inherent dangers and combat the ill-conceived industrialization of our ocean.”
At the state level, where the democrats hold legislative control, Gov Murphy's energy policy has been built heavily around “NJ leading the country in Offshore wind.” Murphy had said earlier that offshore wind “cannot move forward unless the Federal subsidizes offshore wind.” At a post-election results press conference this Thursday, Gov Murphy was asked that question and responded, “we worked effectively last time with Trump on areas where our values and common interests were shared. Offshore wind is going to be interesting. Is he going to do what he said about eliminating the subsidies? I don't know. One of the realities of winning all three chambers of government, you get to put through your plan with very little push-back.”
At the state level, Assemblyman Kanitra, who represents the Gold Coast towns as part of his district, Kanitra had this to say in targeting the wind developers, mainly big oil companies, “It’s time to pack your bags and get the hell away from the Jersey Shore, our marine life, fishing industry and beautiful beaches! What you and your corporate greed tried to do to our coastline is abhorrent and shameful.”
From the installation of 5G Cell towers, towns along the Jersey Coast, including Spring Lake and Belmar, are facing legal battles as companies like Verizon seek to install permanent 5G cell towers along beachfronts. These companies operate under Section 704 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, a federal law that restricts state, county, and local authority over wireless infrastructure—a central issue in these disputes.
Should the congressional vote count and predictions hold of the GOP hitting the 218 required members, the Republican Party would control the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches. The question is being asked: what does it take to overturn the law, and where does the GOP stand on doing so? On the former, to overturn federal laws that protect cell tower installations, the primary methods would be:
Congressional Action: Congress could pass new legislation to amend or repeal these sections. This would require drafting a bill, gaining support in both chambers, and presidential approval.
Judicial Review: Opponents could challenge the law’s constitutionality in court. If a case reached the Supreme Court, a ruling could potentially strike down portions of the law. To date, the full depth of the legislation has not been challenged in court.
FCC Rule Changes: The FCC could initiate a rulemaking process to reinterpret the law, possibly giving more control to local governments. This would require significant public and political support. With the election results. President-elect Trump will select his own FCC Chair and Commissioners, though independent, typically focus on policy aligned by the new President.
Public Advocacy: Grassroots and local government advocacy could lobby Congress or pressure the FCC to change the law or its interpretation.
The most direct approach is new legislation from Congress.
To try and answer the second question -where does the GOP stand on doing so - that is not yet clear. While the GOP generally supports reducing regulatory barriers to infrastructure development, this law has been in effect for 28 years, during which time the GOP had control of all three branches of government at times, the last time being Jan 2017 to Jan 2019. What is known is cell service and the ever-expanding transfer of data and communication around the globe is expanding exponentially, and coverage will undoubtedly need to keep expanding with it. While the Executive and Legislative bodies are changing, and possibly giving pause to these 5G roll-out efforts, there is little to say that this law will be repealed or replaced until the new administration sets its policies and priorities.
Here are two articles in our 5G Cell Tower series. The first HERE provides legal basis, risk, and next steps. The second HERE addresses the growing urgency for Spring Lake to define its strategy and that will happen on November 12th @ 7:00PM at HW Mountz School.
Find TAPinto Gold Coast on FACEBOOK Sign up for E-mail News Alerts and, under town, select GOLD COAST.