Van Drew Cites Pentagon Concerns with Offshore Wind

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd) issued a statement April 17, saying that the Pentagon “sounded the alarms on how the development of offshore wind farms will affect our national security.”
The release reiterates Van Drew’s call for a “moratorium on these projects until it is far too late.”
The release does not provide any details on the Pentagon position or the level of threat the wind farms pose to the military. Given the recent news coverage concerning Pentagon maps that outline areas of potential concern where wind farm development could interfere with military activities, it is likely that the maps are the source of concern referenced by Van Drew.
The maps just surfaced but had been drawn much earlier as part of the military’s response to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) request for reaction to proposed lease areas in the mid-Atlantic. The maps became news when copies were obtained by Bloomberg.
These maps, now more generally available, show the major area of concern in the military response that centers on the area east and southeast of the Chesapeake Bay. None of the maps made public deal specifically with lease areas off the New Jersey coast.
Both BOEM and the Pentagon have issued statements that place emphasis on their commitment to find ways to reconcile leasing in regions of the Atlantic that do not interfere with U.S. Department of Defense interests. No one provided any details on how and where such accommodation will be needed or reached.
A point Van Drew and others have made repeatedly is that development of the wind farms is moving at too fast a pace, allowing for less than adequate study of impacts and potential unintended consequences.