There is no evidence that whales have been or will be harmed by offshore wind farm exploration and operation. Across all sectors of industry and education, scholarly article after article after article after article (just to list a few) dispute these claims. OK there is one "scientific" study expressing concern over right whales. Offshore wind farms have actually been shown to double both biodiversity and biodensity. 

Wind farm sonar surveys typically use high frequency, low noise and narrow beam width equipment that is difficult for whales to hear. High intensity and low frequency sonar systems used for military tactical purposes and by the Oil & Gas industry have been shown to be damaging to whales. Oil & Gas exploration use large arrays of powerful air pulse guns that need to penetrate miles below seafloor. Wind farm mapping does infrequently use low frequency but it is low intensity that only needs to penetrate 100 feet into seafloor. Low frequency offshore NJ sonar mapping surveys have not been conducted since Summer of 2022.

Would "Moving Them Out" make any difference to this perceived impact?

There are more and larger ships on the East Coast - and in particular the Northern Atlantic. New York and New Jersey port traffic has increased 27% since 2019. The Port of NY/NJ now handles the most cargo in the U.S. The Port of Philadelphia is the fastest growing port. 

In 2017 the Bayonne Bridge was raised by 64 feet to allow larger modern container ships. In 2016 the Port of NY/NJ had 99 total container ships, none super-sized. In 2021 there were 550 and 28% were of the super-sized variety. The Port of NY/NJ averages about 10 cargo ships a day.

The NOAA has proposed legislation that would reduce shipping traffic speeds around endangered right whale habitats.

A cargo ship's noise distribution covers an area about 20,000x larger than a wind turbine. Bubble curtains are used during the construction phase to mitigate noise by up to 90%.

But how about those "Takes" the offshore wind companies are getting? Takes do not equate mortalities. The strict definition is "to harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal". These are handled by NOAA Marine Mammal Protection Act and all active Takes for wind farm exploration projects are for incidental harassment. Active Takes by industry:
    Wind: 16
    Military: 12
    Oil & Gas: 7
    Construction: 39
    Research: 11

Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, harassment is defined as:

• Level A Harassment (non-serious injury): Has the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild 

• Level B Harassment (behavioral disturbance): Has the potential to disturb a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of behavioral patterns—including migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering—but does not have the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild

Not a single solution will solve all the environmental impacts of climate change. Some interesting facts about offshore wind:

• Every single offshore wind turbine removes the carbon footprint equivalent to 220,500 cars. Ocean Wind 1 with 98 turbines planned equals 21.6 million cars removed from the roads. 

• One rotation of an offshore wind turbine generates enough electricity to power a typical home for approximately one day.

• CO2 footprint of offshore wind is at the high end 3.5% of that from common fossil fuel power generation.

Current wind energy is more efficient than solar - 45% versus 20%. But wind and solar should both be part of a balanced sustainable energy economy.

"Insert random and exaggerated number of gallons here" the anti-wind campaigns say they contain and frequently spill. Fact is they contain less than 100 gallons that is recycled every 1-2 years. Neither oils nor fossil fuels are are used during operation. Whereas Oil & Gas disasters average well over 1,000,000 gallons per spill. Average yearly from all human activities is about 650,000,000 gallons per year (Oil Spills: 37 | Offshore Drilling: 15 | Naval Routine Maintenance: 137 | Industrial Waster: 363 | Air Pollution: 92).

85-95% of wind turbine material to be recycled at end of useful life. None of New Jersey's decommissioned wind farm blades will be sent to a landfill. All claims of oil spills and toxic materials are highly exaggerated. Recycling of turbine blades is becoming possible as well as building them from recycled materials.

But how about harmful EMF? According to the BOEM - AC undersea power cables associated with offshore wind energy will generate weak EMF at frequencies outside the known range of detection by electrosensitive and magnetosensitive fishes - Link and Link and Link.

And some real in-depth articles about the effects of EMF that are being cited as harmful evidence by the anti-farm groups- Link and Link. If we had to summarize them: EMF effects from offshore windfarms, while negligible, should continue to be studied.

EMF and sound waves are different physical phenomena. They do not interact or magnify each other.

Wouldn't "Moving Them Out" make this perceived impact worse?

Renewable energy currently provides over 20% of the power to the U.S. and almost 30% globally. Study after study after study after study have shown renewable energy to be more reliable than traditional power generation methods. Especially the combination and diversification of solar and wind with increased storage capacities, like pump storage hydropower. Wind and solar outputs are easily monitored and planned for with current sophisticated weather projections. Even in the recent Texas big freeze in 2021 renewables outperformed traditional but were initially blamed without any evidence. Wind does not "turn off" at night but wind and solar should both be part of a balanced sustainable energy economy. 

Advantages of offshore wind:

• Offshore wind is stronger, blows with greater consistency and is less turbulent than onshore wind, thus generating more power with more reliability. Even a calm breeze produces energy.

• Ocean transport makes construction of larger and more powerful wind farms possible versus transport over land.

• Ocean placement of large wind farms can be more effective at avoiding economical impacts (such as shipping channels and fishing areas) and ecologically sensitive areas.

• Over half the U.S. population is located close enough to the coastline to take advantage of efficient windfarm energy generation.

The cost of renewable energy production is currently cheaper than traditional methods including fossil fuels and nuclear. New technologies continue to become more affordable as they are more widely implemented. Wind farms produce more energy then expended to manufacture within a year of normal operation and about 6-10 years for return of the full investment cost.

Offshore wind turbines are being built and assembled in New Jersey. Creating jobs right now and and for a future sustainable economy. See this piece from 60 minutes about impact in Grimsby, UK. Offshore wind farms are expected to produce 2X times number of jobs and energy versus offshore oil drilling. The New Jersey Wind port being constructed on the Delaware River is expected to support up to $500 million of new economic activity with the state and region each year.

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