Lawmakers Gather in Support of Harnessing New Jersey's Wind Energy

Washington, D.C. -- Representatives Frank Pallone (NJ-06) and Rush Holt (NJ-12), Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, along with key Ocean advocates Friday met at the New Jersey shore in Ocean Grove to encourage the use of wind energy over offshore drilling. The event highlighted the benefits of a long-term investment in wind energy.

“Advocates of offshore drilling will have a hard time convincing people that they have nothing to fear from drilling in our waters given that drilling off the coast of nearby states still poses a threat to New Jersey – the ocean waters don't respect state borders and neither would spilled oil,” said Congressman Frank Pallone. “Any energy development in the Atlantic should be from renewable sources and not polluting fossil fuels.”

“‘Drill, baby drill’ has no place off the coast of New Jersey, especially now that we have seen how quickly a quietly producing oil rig can become a gushing source of foul ocean and beach pollution. Drilling – here, now, and everywhere – will not help wean our country off foreign fuels or bring down the price of gas at the pump. Rather, we should do everything we can to develop an important clean, sustainable energy resource – wind – that presents a great opportunity for fueling the transition to a clean energy economy,” Congressman Rush Holt said.

“There’s no good reason to gamble our coastal economy with a dangerous Mid-Atlantic drilling scheme,” said U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). “Instead, we need to invest in energy that is sustainable, safe and never runs out — like solar and wind. In New Jersey, we’ve already placed a bet on wind power — and it is paying off.”

“The headlines coming out of the Gulf Coast oil rig explosion tragedy that cost 11 lives and is endangering the coast and its wildlife have only served to deepen my concerns about the threat coastline drilling poses to the Jersey Shore, to New Jersey’s economy, and to the environment,” said U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. “Instead of doubling down on a 19th century fuel we should be investing in a 21st a century green economy that will create jobs and allow us to compete for hundreds of billions of dollars in new investment in clean energy technology. This latest incident is yet another wake-up call to protect our natural resources and our coastal economies.”

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