Senator Helmy Co-sponsors Bills to Support Offshore Wind, Invest in Coastal Resilience Efforts

Builds on New Jersey’s Nation-Leading Offshore Wind Industry While Safeguarding Coastal Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator George Helmy (D-NJ) yesterday co-sponsored two bills to support New Jersey’s offshore wind industry. The bipartisan Reinvesting In Shoreline Economies and Ecosystems (RISEE) Act establishes a revenue-sharing system that allows for a portion of federal dollars from offshore wind development to flow back to states to fund coastal protection and restoration efforts. The Nonrestrictive Offshore Wind (NOW) Act eliminates a provision of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that links future offshore wind lease sales to future offshore oil and gas lease sales.

“Under Governor Murphy’s leadership, New Jersey’s burgeoning offshore wind industry is poised to be a national leader, generating billions in economic development in our state and creating well-paying jobs for our residents. As offshore wind continues to grow across our nation, moving us toward a greener economy, it’s important that we reinvest federal offshore wind revenues into our coastal communities, which are housing the industry,” said Senator Helmy. “In New Jersey’s shore towns, we have seen the devastating impacts of climate change, including severe flooding and coastal erosion. The RISEE Act ensures that a portion of federal dollars from offshore wind projects are dedicated to improving resiliency and mitigating the risks posed by increasingly severe natural disasters.”

“To expand on my work to move New Jersey and our country to a clean energy future, I am supporting the NOW Act to eliminate any ties between federal offshore wind leasing and offshore oil and gas leasing,” continued Senator Helmy. “As we work to reduce our carbon footprint and create a better environment for future generations, it makes little sense to link renewable energy development to continued fossil fuel extraction.”

Current law requires all revenues generated from offshore wind leases and production beyond state waters to be deposited into the U.S. Treasury. The RISEE Act will require 37.5% of offshore wind revenue to flow back to coastal states where offshore wind farms are developed based on a formula established by the Department of the Interior.

The RISEE Act would give New Jersey a significant share of the revenue generated from the $1.64 billion offshore wind lease sale in the New York Bight, in addition to other current and future lease sales.

Funds under this new system can be used for a variety of conservation-related purposes, including:

1. For coastal restoration, hurricane protection, or infrastructure;
2. To mitigate damage to fish, wildlife, or other natural resources, including through fisheries science and research; and
3. To implement a marine, coastal, or conservation management plan.

In addition, 12.5% of offshore wind revenues would be dedicated to the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund.

The bill will also provide 50% of federal offshore wind revenues to the U.S. Treasury.

Additionally, the bill makes changes to the revenue-sharing system for oil and gas production off the coast of states in the Gulf of Mexico, including:

1. Eliminating a sharing cap on offshore oil and gas revenue for Gulf States, currently at $375 million; and
2. Lifting the Land & Water Conservation Fund’s state-side mandatory funding cap of $125 million.

The NOW Act eliminates a provision in the IRA that requires the Department of the Interior to issue a lease sale for offshore oil and gas within one year of an offshore wind lease and prevents the Department from approving new offshore wind projects if fewer than 60 million acres have been offered in offshore oil and gas leases during the year prior. This flawed provision could lead to increased offshore oil and gas drilling, which not only endangers coastal communities and ecosystems in the event of an oil spill, but also increases carbon emissions that cause climate change.

“As the Murphy Administration continues to bolster New Jersey’s standing as a nation leader in offshore wind, we remain determined to secure the environmental and economic benefits of this growing industry for our state’s residents,” said New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) President Christine Guhl-Sadovy. “We thank Senators Helmy and Booker for sponsoring legislation that will help safeguard our coastal communities and marine ecosystems for generations to come.”