"OCEAN CITY, N.J. — It’s just one cable meant to bring electricity from an offshore wind farm to a former coal-burning power plant in southern New Jersey, but it symbolizes a big challenge facing the renewable energy industry.
The cable has been fought over for nearly three years, with no end in sight in a state whose officials are eager to get offshore wind power up and running.
Thousands of wind turbines have been proposed for areas along the U.S. coastline as the nation tries to meet an ambitious goal of deploying enough of them offshore by 2030 to power 10 million homes.
So far, just one project is up and running, in Rhode Island, while another is under construction off Virginia, where two of an expected 176 turbines are operating.
But obstacles like the single contentious cable in New Jersey show the challenge the offshore wind energy industry must overcome — quickly — if it is to come anywhere close to meeting its goals."
Wayne Parry reports for the Associated Press November 15, 2022.
