(Montville, NJ ) Republican state Senate candidate Tom Mastrangelo’s call for a legislative investigation into the New Jersey offshore wind project known as Ocean Wind have finally awoken his rival, Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R-26),

Mastrangelo issued a press release a week ago (Feb 22) detailing several problems associated with the offshore windmill project being run by the Danish company Orsted. He called for a temporary halt to the project pending legislative oversight.

An increasing number of dead whales and dolphins have been washing up on New Jersey beaches. Many people believe the whale deaths are the result of sonar mapping for windmill construction that is disorienting the sea mammals and causing them die. Another Whale washed up in Seaside yesterday (March 1).

On Monday Sen. Pennacchio belatedly tried to introduce an amendment to a renewable energy bill that would create a moratorium on offshore mapping for the windmills, virtually parroting what Mastrangelo called for. Pennacchio’s last-minute amendment was voted down.

Mastrangelo called Pennacchio’s maneuver “ a desperate attempt to be relevant after being asleep for so long.”

“Sadly, Sen. Pennacchio hasn’t been paying attention. He fell behind on the issue and I forced him to recognize that there may be serious concerns with the project,” said Mastrangelo.

Republican legislators in Monmouth County and a group of 30 mayors have called for a moratorium on the wind project, which is now getting national attention.

“It’s inconceivable that Sen. Pennacchio failed again to act in the best interests of state residents,” said Mastrangelo. “Too often he has simply been out of touch with the issues in our district and our state.”

Mastrangelo said he is not opposed to renewable energy, but that his concerns about the plan to build hundreds of windmills off the Jersey coast goes beyond just the whales. He said there is a lack of state financial transparency on Ocean Wind and the cost to consumers of the electricity it is supposed to produce. He also noted that the state’s largest utility recently backed out of the Ocean Wind project. Senator Pennacchio has not made any public inquiry as to why PSEG walked away from the wind farm.

“Why hasn’t Sen. Pennacchio bothered to ask the questions I am asking?” questioned Mastrangelo “