Essential infrastructure that benefits our community

Lots of folks, at the Shore and across NJ, have concerns about offshore wind development –  and that’s ok, because we do too. Any time a big corporation is building essential infrastructure in our communities we want to have a say in what that looks like. (Yeah, we said it. Offshore wind is essential infrastructure). But as we like to say, you’re either at the table or you’re on the menu, so join us at the table as we talk about how we can use these projects to benefit our communities! 

So many of our communities experience regular high-tide flooding and stormwater flooding that just keeps getting worse and more dangerous (hello flash flooding!). But our towns often don’t have the funds to make necessary improvements. That’s where Community Benefits Agreements (CBA) can fill the gap. A CBA is a contract between a wind turbine developer and the community they are working in that can help pay for important flood repair and mitigation projects throughout the neighborhood.

In Little Egg Harbor, offshore wind developer Orsted provided a grant toward improving the bulkheads that can protect a major thoroughfare from regular flooding and keep the community safer during storm season.

Our towns need the resources, and these agreements can provide them. It’s a chance to build up our defenses against rising seas and stronger storms. We can’t afford to pass up this opportunity. 

Let’s have a conversation, let’s work together, and let’s secure a safer future for the Jersey Shore.