Dept. of Justice Tells Court BOEM Will Review Atlantic Shores COP Approval
The Department of Justice told a federal district court that it plans to review and likely change the approval of the Construction and Operation Plan for New Jersey’s Atlantic Shores South offshore wind farm. While the project has largely been abandoned for months, the move is symbolic because it was where candidate Donald Trump, during a 2024 campaign stop, vowed to bring an end to the offshore wind energy sector.
The filing, which was made on September 27, is similar to others the Department of Justice has made as part of pending lawsuits against wind farm projects from Massachusetts to Maryland. In each of the cases, DOJ has asked the court to stay the pending litigation brought by local activist groups, saying it was “potentially needless or wasteful litigation.” The Department of the Interior and its Bureau of Ocean Energy Management are involved in the cases as the local opposition repeatedly challenges the approvals given to the projects.
The Atlantic Shores South project, which would consist of two large offshore wind farms, received its final approval from BOEM in October 2024 for a project that would have been off the southern New Jersey coast. It called for 197 turbines that would have been at least 8.7 miles from Long Beach Island as part of a project to provide 2.8 GW of energy to the state.
The project was a joint venture between Shell and EDF Renewables. Despite having gained all its necessary federal approvals, it, however, had yet to gain a power agreement with the state’s utilities. The project had been entered into New Jersey’s fourth round solicitation, but the state ended the round in February without selecting projects.
Trump singled out the project on the campaign trail, and shortly after returning to office, his Environmental Protection Agency challenged an air quality permit granted for the construction of the project. By June, the project told the state it was no longer economical, although EDF had said it planned to pursue the project, while Shell announced it was backing away from the office wind energy sector.
The opponents had lost earlier court challenges but renewed their fight in a case filed in July. DOJ, in its filing to the court last week, said the plan was for BOEM to reconsider the permitting for the project.
The filing states, “At the conclusion of BOEM’s reconsideration proceedings, BOEM will likely make a new agency action, and that action may affect—and potentially moot—plaintiffs’ claims.”
Earlier, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had said the government was reviewing five offshore wind projects, inferring that each would be canceled. While the departments have filed motions to stay the local cases for the projects, the administration, however, suffered a setback in its efforts to challenge Ørsted’s Revolution Wind project. A court barred the government’s efforts to enforce a stop work order on the project, which is 80 percent installed. The Danish company has reported that work resumed while the court cases proceed. The company has also said it was in discussions with the government to resolve the concerns over the project.