Congressman Chris Smith, who has waged a multiyear fight against what he called “extremely dangerous” wind projects off New Jersey and elsewhere, including Empire Wind, welcomed a lawsuit that contains compelling information he believes will help the Trump Administration as it “continues its review of all wind industrial farms rushed through by the Biden Administration as part of the Green New Deal.”
“As President Trump’s comprehensive review of offshore wind continues, this new lawsuit exposes the many insurmountable problems with offshore wind in general and the Empire Wind project in particular,” said Smith.
“Whether it be the safety of mariners and air travelers, radar interference, security and navigational concerns or harm to marine life, all of these concerns that were ignored or glossed over by the Biden-Harris Administration for years are now front and center in the lawsuit.”
Two years ago, July 20, 2023, the House passed an amendment authored by Smith which required President Biden or his designee to certify that offshore wind projects “will not weaken, degrade, interfere with, or nullify the capability of radar relied upon the Federal Aviation Administration or the Armed Forces.” The Senate failed to consider it.
Three months prior to that, in March 2023—Smith authored legislation that passed the House 244 to 189 tasking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to comprehensively review the sufficiency of the environmental review process. After that legislation also failed to make it through the Senate , Smith, joined by other lawmakers, successfully convinced the GAO to undertake the audit.
“Thus it’s highly significant” Smith explained, “ that a section of the lawsuit parallels concerns raised by the GAO report in early April that found “Wind turbines can reduce the performance of radar systems used for defense and maritime navigation and safety in several ways.”
According to Smith, “The coalition lawsuit of fishermen, environmental activists, residents, homeowners, and business owners underscores the fact that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) that ‘proposed turbine structure will interfere with the operation of the 11 High Frequency radar installations that protect navigation and make rescue possible in the New York Bight and along the New Jersey coast’.”
“This further tracks with the GAO study which states materials used to construct wind turbines, mainly steel, possess a high electromagnetic reflectivity, which, along with the rotating blades, can make it hard to see targets on different radar systems, including high-frequency and marine vessel radar.”
Smith said that “having no plan on how to mitigate radar interference should be enough to call off the construction of this massive turbine farm planned near the flight paths for Newark Liberty, Kennedy, and LaGuardia Airports, not to mention our military bases and busy marine ports along our coast.”
Smith is co-chair of the Congressional Executive Commission on China, the developer of Empire Wind named in the lawsuit— Equinor— I which s owned and controlled by the Kingdom of Norway, and has faced controversy over its relationships with Chinese Communist Party entities.
“The legality of leasing United States waters to a foreign power is an important question raised in this lawsuit that has to be examined,” Smith said.
“It is abundantly clear that major, unanswered questions remain regarding this project. The lawsuit underscores the inherent dangers in poorly vetted, extremely dangerous offshore wind projects and should provide the information needed both in court and for President Trump’s ongoing review, to once and for all pull the plug on Empire Wind,” he said.
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