New Jersey
N.J. port meant to be a wind hub is now at the center of a bitter legal feud
The operator of a South Jersey commercial port is moving to evict a wind-energy manufacturer after promised projects failed to materialize.
The lawsuit, filed in Gloucester County Superior Court on Oct. 7, marks another setback for New Jersey’s offshore wind ambitions.
Holt Logistics Corp., which manages the Paulsboro Marine Terminal, is asking a judge to force EEW Group off the site after years of stalled projects and mounting safety concerns.
The dispute underscores how a $250 million state-backed push to make Paulsboro a hub for wind energy has unraveled amid canceled projects, political opposition, and industry setbacks.
The EEW Group, a German pipe maker, began leasing space at Holt’s port in Paulsboro in 2021. Their objective was to build huge “monopiles,” the poles on which turbines spin to generate electricity.
Four years later, the port manager is asking a judge to order that the European builder vacate its property, located on the bank of the Delaware River in Paulsboro.
Through its subsidiary EEW-AOS, the company is leasing about 70 acres at the Paulsboro port to build monopiles, which are steel foundations for wind turbines that can reach up to 400 feet long, according to court filings reviewed by NJ Advance Media.
The lawsuit names Paulsboro Waterfront Development, an affiliate of Holt, as the plaintiff.
In its three-count lawsuit, Holt accuses EEW of breaching its lease agreement after offshore wind production stalled and alleges violations of safety rules and federal labor laws.
A spokesperson for Paulsboro Waterfront Development said the lawsuit seeks to have the leased area returned into its possession.
“The sole purpose of the sublease was to permit EEW to manufacture monopiles to support the New Jersey offshore wind project,“ Kevin Feeney, a spokesperson for Paulsboro Waterfront Development, said in an email to NJ Advance Media.
”The wind farm project fell apart and late last summer, EEW removed all improvements that would allow for any monopile fabrication. They have abandoned the lease and its sole purpose,” he added.
“The Paulsboro Marine Terminal sits idle since the collapse of the wind energy industry in New Jersey,” Feeney said. “We are confident that as soon as the Terminal can be developed as originally planned – as a thriving facility for both breakbulk and container cargo – it can serve as an economic engine for South Jersey that will bring additional investment and jobs to the region.”
Johnathan Rardin, an attorney for EEW, declined to comment when reached by NJ Advance Media.
The port operator also claims the company tried to remove improvements from the site.
Court exhibits include letters referencing an April 2025 fire caused by workers leaving hot monopile material unattended, as well as a letter noting that state inspectors found fire code violations during a January visit, according to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.
EEW last month denied the accusations, filing a countersuit against Holt in its response to the port manager’s claim. The company said the spring fire was contained and that the fire code violations were fixed quickly.
“This is not a run-of-the-mill commercial real estate dispute,” Holt’s lawsuit states. “Put simply, Paulsboro Marine Terminal is a public asset. As such, the opportunity cost of EEW-AOS’s inactivity is enormous: the diminished inflow of cargo and commodities translates into diminished industrial capacity and diminished demand for labor.”
Michael O’Mara, an attorney for Holt, declined to discuss the case when reached by NJ Advance Media. He directed questions directly to Holt, which did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Ørsted and Atlantic Shores, two of the larger companies preparing to build offshore wind farms, have since canceled their projects.
Last November, workers in Paulsboro began dismantling more than a dozen steel monopiles and recycling their metals.
Holt claims it was “cajoled” into leasing its property by political and civic leaders bullish on an industry that saw little to no success.
Holt’s lawsuit cited the struggling wind industry, which Gov. Phil Murphy sought to bolster with a $250 million investment in the port, promoting it as a project to transform the site into one of the nation’s largest wind-energy hubs.
“Although New Jersey’s offshore wind plan was attractive in theory and initially successful in practice (with massive initial investments translating into early infrastructural progress), that success was short-lived,” the lawsuit states.
In its response, EEW objected to the characterization.
“EEW is of the opinion that its ultimate success in using the site will benefit the State of New Jersey, Gloucester County, and the Borough of Paulsboro,” the response states. “EEW’s use of the Premises will add additional industrial and manufacturing capacity and provide jobs on the site and to related businesses.”
Murphy’s administration planned a two-site process, in which the Paulsboro facility would construct the monopiles and bases for the wind farms.
Miles south in Salem County, a separate facility was expected to construct turbines but never began production at its anticipated start date in 2024.
It’s been nearly a decade and a half since the Brooklyn Nets moved out of New Jersey.
The organization has completely revamped its vibe since switching states, ditching the red, white and blue look for a very basic black and white colorway.
The Nets have also intermittently changed the colors of the banners hanging up in the Barclays Center from red, white and blue to black and white, much to the chagrin of traditional Nets fans.
Despite the Nets now playing in a bigger market and being far removed from their days in the Garden State, some fans seem to hope for the Nets to make their return across the river. New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill was asked about the matter.
“I mean, would I support it? I ask about it all the time,” Sherrill said. “I love the idea. So, I have been pressing for that. I haven’t made a lot of headway yet; you know, maybe in my second 100 days.
“But I do think there is some work being done for some — I don’t know if I’m allowed to say too much about it — but some people are working on some different sports coming into the Rock.”
As time went on, the Nets eventually started to embrace more of their New Jersey roots, which started when they rocked a clean tie-dye jersey from the 90s during the 2020-21 season.
The next season, the Nets followed it up with uniforms commemorating their run in the 2000s, when the team got to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003 and endlessly broke the ESPN top 10 with each crazy Jason Kidd assist and Vince Carter dunk.
It’s fitting that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the latter of whom grew up in New Jersey as a Nets fan, got to rock these uniforms, helping boost the popularity of the New Jersey brand to a wide array of fans.
True Nets fans embraced the Continental Airlines Arena/Izod Center and the swamps of East Rutherford, getting to witness a winning basketball team for a fraction of the cost of the team mired in dysfunction that happened to play their home games at “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”
Not many marquee free agents would have signed up to play in New Jersey, but real fans remember the good times in the swamps, especially with Sly the Fox as the team’s mascot. Those times deserve to be remembered properly.
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ATLANTIC COUNTY, N.J. (WPVI) — Drivers heading to the shore on Friday afternoon saw slow-moving traffic for several miles coming off the Walt Whitman bridge, but many travelers said the start of the holiday weekend was smoother than they anticipated.
Aldara Madden, who was traveling with her friend Elana Maser, said the trip moved faster than she expected.
“I was expecting it to take a lot longer,” she said.
Maser added that they left school early to avoid delays.
“My mom and I do that every year and then we always stop here as our little pre-down the shore,” she said.
Others shared similar experiences.
“I’m coming from Bucks County, so I was worried there was gonna be some traffic but it really wasn’t bad at all,” said Erin McFadden of Churchville, who was headed to Ocean City.
AAA reported that while slightly more people are traveling by car this year compared to last, 2026 is projected to have the lowest year-over-year travel growth rate in more than a decade, excluding the steep drop seen in 2020 during the pandemic.
The organization attributes the slowdown largely to concerns over rising prices.
“Gas is ridiculously expensive and I think all the time before going anywhere these days,” said Debbie Maser of Philadelphia. “But this is our happy place and nothing can keep us away.”
A dreary weekend forecast may also be influencing travel patterns.
“I was thinking that, I wonder if there’ll be less congestion on the roads because of the weather,” said Kyra Wolin of Massachusetts. “It’s not looking to be too good this weekend with the rain.”
Still, many shore-bound travelers said tradition outweighs any concerns about rain or crowds.
“No not at all. You go down. You get it done,” said George Miller of Lansdale.
Eric Wolin of Massachusetts agreed: “Never, never. Margate’s a special place for us.”
As the unofficial start of summer begins, travelers said they remain committed to kicking off the season in their favorite spots, not letting rain, traffic, or high prices keep them away.
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This story is part of the WHYY News Climate Desk, bringing you news and solutions for our changing region.
From the Poconos to the Jersey Shore to the mouth of the Delaware Bay, what do you want to know about climate change? What would you like us to cover? Get in touch.
As summer begins, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill is urging residents to limit lawn watering, and hand water flowers and shrubs as a drought warning continues. The warning, in place since December 2025, could turn into a drought emergency if conditions do not improve. The state has suffered eight consecutive months of below-normal rainfall, according to officials.
“New Jersey is experiencing a chronic water supply drought, the scale of which we haven’t seen in more than twenty years,” state geologist Steven Domber said in a statement issued earlier this month. “The indicators that we track closely are showing persistently dry conditions. With uncertainty for rainfall in the coming months, we need residents to conserve water today, to ensure we have enough to sustain our needs over the summer.”
The Department of Environmental Protection uses a variety of indicators to determine drought levels, including precipitation, stream flows, reservoir levels, ground water levels and demand.
In addition to the last two months, officials say, the state “experienced below normal precipitation for 20 of the last 24 months since September 2024,” despite heavy snowfall events this past winter that helped restore reservoirs in North Jersey.
“While we saw a little relief over the winter, New Jersey is feeling the effects of nearly two years of below-normal precipitation,” Sherrill said in a statement earlier this month. She urged residents to voluntarily conserve water.
New Jersey state climatologist David Robinson said that since precipitation has been below normal for most of the last 24 months, the recent winter weather did not provide enough water to help restore streams and groundwater.
Should a drought emergency be declared, mandatory water restrictions would be put in place. The last drought emergency lasted almost a year, between March 2002 and January 2003.
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