LONG BEACH ISLAND, N.J., Aug 26, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Save Long Beach Island, Inc. (Save LBI), a grass-roots organization with more than 10,000 supporters dedicated to sound energy policies and preserving our shore and ocean environment, today urged the New Jersey Legislature to put politics aside and enact meaningful laws that address the mounting energy crisis and reconsider the role of offshore wind development.
The organization is proposing a multifaceted plan that would:
* Reduce the cost of importing electricity from PJM Interconnection by restoring affordable in-state baseload and high-demand “peaking” capacity.
* Shield NJ ratepayers from high costs associated with the significant energy demands of AI data centers.
* Reconsider the role of offshore wind development, a failed experiment that depends on billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies to deliver intermittent power while destroying the environment and disrupting local shore communities.
* Demonstrate leadership on greenhouse-gas reduction by increasing in-state nuclear capacity and deploying other carbon reducing measures that could be used worldwide – without mandating artificial renewable-energy quotas.
A Path to Energy Stability
“Delivering reliable, affordable energy is vital to New Jersey residents and businesses and should be the responsibility of all of the State’s elected representatives,” said Save LBI president Bob Stern. “Even before electricity rates jumped 20% in June, New Jersey rates were already among the highest in the nation at 33% above the national average. [*note 1] And two-thirds of that increase is tied to surging data-center demand across the PJM grid system [*note 2] on which the State now heavily relies.”
The State’s reliance on out-of-state power stems from the misguided belief that reliable, in-state “baseload” power could be shut down and replaced by intermittent offshore wind energy that is costly as well as damaging to the environment and local shore communities. Today, New Jersey imports more than 25% of its power (about 5,000 megawatts) [*note 3] from PJM at premium rates. By 2030, demand is projected to rise by another 1,200 megawatts – driven largely by new data centers that require steady baseload power [*note 4] – which will lead to even higher costs and potential supply shortages. [*note 5] (For more background on the impact of current energy policy, see “The Rising Cost of Electricity in New Jersey” on SaveLBI.org.)
“Save LBI is calling on the legislature to assert leadership over the NJ Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), regardless of who occupies the Governor’s office,” Stern said. “It is the responsibility of our elected representatives – not regulators – to set energy policy.”
Save LBI’s energy plan includes five distinct actions:
1. Expand nuclear power. New Jersey’s nuclear facilities in Salem and Hope Creek now supply more than 20 percent of the state’s electricity and are critical to maintaining baseload reliability – the ability to generate a continuous supply of electricity across NJ. Several thousand megawatts of capacity could be added to these sites, as well as at the shuttered Oyster Creek Power Station in Lacey Township, by deploying Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and using existing transmission infrastructure. [*note 3] Under recent licensing streamlining procedures, the SMRs could come online in the 2029 to 2032 time frame.
2. Deploy natural gas to ensure a reliable supply of energy. Modern combined-cycle and peaking units can deliver thousands of megawatts of reliable power and could be operational within three years.
3. Reconsider Offshore Wind. In recent years, the industry has faced significant public opposition, escalating costs, and widespread cancellations. Offshore wind projects are heavily dependent on taxpayer subsidies, unable to meet baseload demand, interfere with the accuracy of radar used for national defense and navigation, harm coastal tourism, and pose a serious threat to marine mammals, including the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, to name a few of the many negatives. Offshore wind is also the most expensive source of energy:
* The cost per unit (1 megawatt-hour) for offshore wind of power delivered, including grid backup and interconnection costs, is about $300, which is two to almost four times higher than nuclear ($141/MWh for large reactors, $101/MWh for small modular reactors) or combined-cycle gas ($78/MWh). [*note 6]
* The 20-year cost to New Jersey ratepayers for the current 11,000 MW offshore wind plan is staggering: $101 billion – adding roughly $11,000 per household, $95,000 per commercial user, and $796,000 per industrial user. [*note 7] And these are conservative estimates that reflect outdated, lower pricing and exclude the cost of grid backup.
* On a percentage basis, the Atlantic Shores South project (off the coast of Long Beach Island, Brigantine, and Atlantic City) alone would increase bills by 11% for residential users, 13% for commercial users, and 15% for industrial users. [*note 8]
* New Jersey’s full 11,000-megawatt plan would raise average bills by 33 percent in 2035 and 89% in 2045. [*note 9] Again, these estimates are conservative and do not factor in transmission and grid backup costs.
* State taxpayers have already spent nearly $1 billion to build the unused Paulsboro Offshore Wind Manufacturing Facility and the New Jersey Wind Port staging area in Lower Alloways Creek. Billions more may be needed for turbine removal since current rules do not obligate developers to bear that cost. The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has announced plans to revise leasing and permitting rules – rules that should stipulate turbine removal.
4. Make data centers pay their fair share. AI/data center demand is a major driver of PJM price increases. Without corrective measures, costs will continue to be unfairly shifted to households. The Legislature should direct BPU to ensure data centers cover the full cost of their demand, including transmission upgrades.
5. Assume a global leadership position. Climate change is a global challenge. New Jersey alone cannot make a measurable impact, but it can lead by funding a comprehensive study of greenhouse-gas reduction and climate-preparedness strategies that can be deployed worldwide, and then demonstrating and exporting the most promising solutions.
Given the status and history of offshore wind in New Jersey, the Legislature should consider rescinding the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act (OWEDA), which mandates artificial renewable energy goals, or – at a minimum – prohibit new offshore wind procurements until federal rules are revised and a plan for the removal of wind turbines is assured. (Notably, New Hampshire has already cancelled its offshore wind program.)
“All energy sources have their pluses and negatives,” concluded Stern, who served as a manager at the U.S. Department of Energy at a time when the country was looking to reduce its dependency on foreign oil. “Selecting the best mix requires consideration of many factors, including availability, reliability, cost, longevity, and long-term environmental and social impact. Whenever you base policy on just one factor – especially something like climate change that the State can’t meaningfully influence – you run into trouble.”
About Save LBI
Save LBI is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization that has been active in ongoing litigation and other efforts to protect the coastal and marine environment from the senseless industrialization of our oceans. The organization is led by Beach Haven, N.J. resident Bob Stern, a Ph.D. scientist with experience in environmental planning and environmental law. He is a former manager of the U.S. Department of Energy office responsible for overseeing environmental protection related to energy projects and the Bureau of Air Quality Planning within the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).
For more information on Save LBI and its efforts, click here: https://www.savelbi.org.
Contact: https://www.savelbi.org/contact
REFERENCES
1. U.S. Energy Information Administration: Electric Power Monthly, July 2025, https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/
2. Regional Plan Association (RPA): What’s happening with electric rates in New Jersey? August 2025, https://rpa.org/news/lab/whats-happening-with-electricity-rates-in-new-jersey
3. Whitestrand LLC – Wanted: A New Jersey Energy Policy that Works and is Affordable, August 2025, https://whitestrandllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Propsed_NJEnergyPolicyReport.pdf
4. PSE&G 2025 Load Forecast Adjustments, December 2024,
https://www.pjm.com/-/media/DotCom/planning/res-adeq/load-forecast/pseg-documentation.pdf and PJM 2025 Long-Term Load Forecast Report, January 2025, https://www.pjm.com/-/media/DotCom/library/reports-notices/load-forecast/2025-load-report.pdf
5. Tariff Revision for Reliability Resource Initiative by PJM Interconnection LLC (FERC docket ER 25-712-000), December 13, 2024, https://www.lawofrenewableenergy.com/2024/12/articles/energy-policy/ferc/pjm-files-reliability-resource-initiative-at-ferc-requesting-expansion-of-transition-cycle-2-for-reliability-resources/
6. Whitestrand LLC: A Comparison of the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of Various Generating Sources, January, 2025, https://whitestrandllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LCOE_Study.pdf
7. Whitestrand LLC: Impact of New Jersey Offshore Wind Program on State Electric Rates, November 2023, https://whitestrandllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ImpactOfOffshoreWindOnElectricRatesLBT10.pdf
8. Whitestrand LLC: Economic Analysis of the Atlantic Shores, South Offshore South Wind Project, August 2024, https://whitestrandllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/EconomicAnalyisisOf-TheASSouthProject.pdf
9. Whitestrand LLC: Analysis of the New Jersey Energy Master Plan, May, 2025, https://whitestrandllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/AnalysisOfNJerseyEMP.pdf
News Source: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)
Related link: https://www.savelbi.org/
This press release was issued on behalf of the news source, who is solely responsible for its accuracy, by Send2Press Newswire. To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/new-jerseys-save-lbi-unveils-plan-to-secure-reliable-and-affordable-electricity-urges-lawmakers-to-act-on-escalating-energy-crisis-and-reconsider-offshore-wind-development/
