1 week Ago By Bonnie Brady
New York’s offshore waters are on the brink of a man-made disaster, one that threatens marine life, coastal economies and even national security. The Empire Wind offshore wind project this week began construction in the New York Bight, a critical marine ecosystem and one of the busiest maritime zones on the East Coast. The damage may be irreversible — and New Yorkers will be footing the bill.
This week, Empire started dumping thousands of tons of rock into the ocean to prepare for constructing huge monopiles, the foundations upon which its giant wind turbines will sit. The rocks — 3.2 billion pounds of them, in just this first phase of a planned two-part installation — will destroy habitat, burying vital sand shoals that serve as spawning and nursery grounds for fish species like fluke, squid and scallops.
Entire fisheries and fishing communities from Massachusetts to North Carolina will be harmed. Next month, Empire will start pile-driving the massive 180-foot monopoles into the seafloor. The tremendous underwater noise and vibration will harm all marine life, especially endangered species like the North Atlantic right whale.
Already on the edge of extinction, these whales migrate directly through the construction zone . Empire Wind’s permit from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration allows the harassment of these marine mammals — expected to include temporary deafness of over 300 whales in its first year of construction. More than 150 endangered right, fin and sei whales are permitted to be harmed in this way, crippling their underwater navigation and communication abilities.
Up to eight are allowed to be permanently deafened. A deaf whale is a dead whale. The risks extend beyond endangered whales: Empire Wind puts the broader Atlantic Ocean coastal economy in jeopardy.
The Mid-Atlantic Bight supports a multibillion-dollar commercial and recreational fishing industry and thousands of jobs coastwide. Undermining these sectors endangers our food security, along with our maritime and cultural heritage. Even our national defense and aviation safety are at risk.
Under its permit, Empire Wind must shut down operations whenever ordered to do so by the Department of Defense, and the FAA has warned the turbines could interfere with radar at JFK, Islip and Westchester airports. If this project is so disruptive to defense and flight safety that it must be ready to be halted at a moment’s notice, why are we greenlighting it? Consider global precedent: Sweden canceled 13 offshore wind projects in November after realizing they would seriously impede its military response to an enemy attack, as well as its detection of adversaries’ submarines. Yet the United States presses forward — despite reports of unidentified drones off our coasts and escalating global tensions.
The project’s visual impact is also impossible to ignore. Massive turbines will loom on our horizon, visible from Long Beach, NY. to Long Branch, NJ, threatening coastal tourism economies that depend on ocean views.
Remember the turbine blade that broke off near Nantucket last year, scattering 55 tons of fiberglass debris across four states? That accident closed Nantucket beaches for a week in July, a devastating blow to local businesses. Imagine that happening to beach towns across Long Island and New Jersey. What do New Yorkers get in return for these risks? A phony, high-cost energy source .
Offshore wind is four times more expensive than New York’s average wholesale electricity price. Nor is it reliable — wind generation requires 24/7 backup from fossil fuel or nuclear power plants. That means we’ll pay twice: once for the so-called “green energy,” and again to keep the real power on.
High-cost offshore wind, which also requires billions of dollars in new transmission lines to bring the electricity ashore, means higher electric bills — and more economic hardship for New York’s already beleaguered consumers and businesses. Yet all the project’s profits will flow overseas. Empire Wind is bankrolled by US tax credits but operated by Equinor, a foreign state-owned oil company.
We bear the cost; Norway reaps the rewards. Empire Wind is not about progress. It’s the industrialization of our ocean, rubber-stamped by federal agencies and delivered by a foreign-owned corporation under the guise of climate action.
It is corporate welfare disguised as environmentalism, and the costs are far too high. This year, President Trump issued an executive order aimed at protecting American fisheries and ensuring offshore wind does not undermine national interests. He must act on that order now, before Empire Wind irreparably damages the New York Bight.
Bonnie Brady is executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association..
