The day after the election, it is appropriate to return to the 1992 presidential election, during which Eccentric independent candidate Ross Perot warned of a “giant sucking sound.”

Perot, who died in 2019, was warning about the just-negotiated North American Free Trade Treaty (NAFTA). The “giant sucking sound,” he said during the 1992 campaign, was that of American jobs and factories leaving for Mexico.

Are we hearing another “giant sucking sound,” but more localized, as we pass another presidential election?

There is some disturbing news surrounding the Port of Paulsboro in South Jersey and the important role it was expected to play in the shift to offshore wind energy. The NJ Advance Media article was headlined: “Massive offshore wind monopiles are being scrapped at New Jersey’s wind port, mayor says.”

History has confirmed that more than a dozen monopiles… giant steel poles on which wind turbines are mounted and moored in the ocean — are dismantled for scrap metal. That means someone is working there, but not the permanent jobs this manufacturing plant was supposed to create. Today’s giant sucking sound? This could be due to the evaporation of jobs and substantial taxpayer support received by the Port of Paulsboro on the Delaware River and another “wind port” in Salem County. The downstream Salem Harbor was upgraded and repurposed to ship monopiles by barge to the Atlantic coast.

It’s no secret that New Jersey’s ambitious plans for offshore wind energy have stalled — and “stalled” is perhaps a charitable word — over the past year. The sewer suction started with Danish offshore wind giant Ørsted abandons plans to build what was supposed to be the first commercialized offshore wind farm complex in New Jersey. The abrupt cancellation happened just a year ago today.

While other companies’ wind projects for New Jersey remainthe pace slowed considerably. The entire U.S. offshore wind industry has taken multiple hits in recent times due to local opposition, a few turbine blade incidents and concerns about overall costs and financing.

It is disheartening to learn that monopiles are being dismantled and sold for scrap, as if they were rusty, mothballed battleships, which are not a sign of cutting-edge technology. State and port officials must explain why destruction was allowed, instead of being preserved for future installations.

As for the entire Paulsboro Harbor, the monopile plant has been a happy deal that paved the way for poor numbers for an underutilized port which never generated the long-term jobs promised when it opened seven years ago. In 2020, Paulsboro Borough officials believed only 25 people were employed at the cargo terminal run by the publicly owned South Jersey Port Corp. The construction of the port, by the way, cost $225 million in public funding.

Ørsted and its manufacturing partner were supposed to invest $250 million in the Paulsboro wind facilities. But earlier this year, the state settled $125 million with Ørsted for the withdrawal of its wind project, far less than the $300 million “break fee” that had been negotiated in advance.

Has anyone checked the numbers yet, including public contributions devoted to the Paulsboro Port project, as well as the Salem Port project? We suggest Acting State Comptroller Kevin Walsh and that the audit be investigative in nature.

Going forward, wind energy should still be a priority for New Jersey, but there are warnings that its commitment, both financially and from an electricity contribution perspective, will need to be scaled back in the near future. Additionally, several political contingencies lie ahead, including support from the federal government and the outcome of the presidential election. Donald Trump has made it clear what he thinks about wind energy, and he has nothing positive to say about it.

Next year’s gubernatorial election will also play a role. None of the potential major candidates appear to be as anti-wind as Trump, but elect someone who isn’t an outright proponent of these projects or a fan of term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy’s energy master plan — instead of, say, former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney could kill momentum or put plans on the back burner.

Turns out that “giant sucking sound” may not have been relegated to the dustbin (pun intended) of presidential campaign history after all. In South Jersey, we may hear that sound again, even if we are not yet fully aware of it.

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