New Jersey groups Defend Brigantine Beach and Protect our Coast NJ filed their lawsuit on Thursday in state court in Trenton. They claimed the law authorizing the tax break, signed earlier this month by Governor Phil Murphy, violates a provision of the state constitution that generally prohibits legislation that specifically favors a single, private entity.
The groups asked the court to invalidate the law, which they said created the tax break “for the singular purpose of protecting Orsted from commercial risk it voluntarily assumed” when it submitted bids to develop the project, known as Ocean Wind.
Orsted said on Friday it does not comment on pending litigation. The New Jersey attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Biden administration issued federal approvals earlier this month for construction of Ocean Wind, which would consist of 98 turbines in waters near Atlantic City.
The project, the third major offshore wind project approved by the federal government in U.S. waters, would generate 1,100 megawatts of power – enough to power around 380,000 homes, according to the U.S. Interior Department, whose agency, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, approved the construction plan.
The state’s subsidy allows Orsted to keep federal tax credits it would have normally been required to pass along to utility ratepayers, according to the lawsuit. The subsidy was proposed in order to help Orsted with inflation, labor and supply chain concerns, the lawsuit said.
Murphy, whose administration has set a goal of installing 11,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2040, said earlier this month that the measure would help the offshore wind industry take root in the state and provide good paying jobs.
The case is Protect our Coast NJ et al. v. State of New Jersey et al., in the Superior Court of New Jersey in Mercer County, case No. MER-L-001452023.
For the residents: Bruce Afran
For the state and Orsted: Counsel not immediately available
