In the Press...

President Donald Trump weighed in on New Jersey's spike in energy costs, blaming offshore wind energy for driving up costs.

New Jersey ratepayers are experiencing sticker shock when opening their bills, as a 20% hike took effect on June 1. The state Board of Public Utilities ordered the increase to be deferred until October, when bills are lower due to the cooler autumn weather. Customers are getting a preview of the higher rates.

"STUPID AND UGLY WINDMILLS ARE KILLING NEW JERSEY," Trump wrote on his Truth social media platform. "Energy prices up 28% this year, and not enough electricity to take care of state. STOP THE WINDMILLS!"

Opponents of wind energy blame the Murphy administration's green energy agenda for being overly reliant on wind while closing nuclear and fossil fuel sources of power.

The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management stopped all construction on the Empire Wind Project in April, effectively ending all wind projects off the New Jersey coast. The project was revived in May when the order was lifted "following dialogue with regulators and federal, state, and city officials," according to Equinor, the Norwegian energy company developing the site.

GOP rally calls Empire project a threat to national security

It's not clear what prompted Trump's comments but opponents of the project rallied on Saturday in Seaside Heights.

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J. 4th District, called the project "one of the worst taxpayer rip-offs ever" and asked Trump to stop the project. The Republican said he asked Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to stop the project.

"He told me that three days ago, the Department of the Interior announced the launch of a full review of offshore wind energy regulations to ensure alignment with President Donald J. Trump’s energy priorities. This effort includes ensuring federal regulations do not provide preferential treatment to unreliable, foreign-controlled energy sources over dependable, American-made energy.

Smith said ocean wind power is a "serious national security threat, an environmental disaster in the making, an existential threat to sea creatures large — including whales and dolphins — and small."

The project is a "death sentence" to tourism, commercial and recreational fishing that will cost "billions of taxpayer subsidies," making it "the most expensive form of electricity on the planet."