Speaking at a Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting the officials of wind energy project assured the board that the projects would not harm the fishing industry at any cost. Dan Cohen, president of Cape May-based Fishermen’s Energy, said that there are still many hurdles on the federal level, so his company is focusing on a pilot project located 2.8 miles off the coast of Atlantic City, keeping it within state waters.
Cohen informed that his company is funded 100 percent by commercial fishing companies. So they are studying much to minimize the impact of wind turbine construction on any fisheries off the coastline. A separate study shows that the affect of offshore wind turbines on the marine environment would be “minimal” with regard to New Jersey.
Cohen added that they are expecting positive comment from public held by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Cohen said the company is also trying to make itself part of the “rebranding” of Atlantic City, stating that they want to make Atlantic City the official birthplace of offshore wind in the United States.
Markian Melnyk, of Atlantic Wind Connection, said the company is planning to develop a 6,000-megawatt grid that runs parallel to the coast of the eastern United States from southern Virginia to northern New Jersey.
