Few things expose government financial mismanagement and waste as starkly as the green energy boondoggle. Unfortunately, New Jersey residents have learned this reality the hard way.

Garden State Democrat Governor Phil Murphy bought into the climate cult agenda and touted a “clean energy” project, which he claimed would not only help save the planet but also save New Jerseyans money on their power bills.

Well, the truth is that neither will be the case. Questions and concerns regarding the negative impact these offshore wind farms are having on sea life, specifically whales, have environmental groups ringing alarm bells and calling for an end to these behemoth windmills.

However, the biggest problem with these offshore wind farms is their exorbitant cost. Even with massive taxpayer funding to offset the costs, they are still too expensive.

Just this week, the energy company Shell pulled out of its deal with New Jersey to help construct the Atlantic Shores wind farm. Shell, which had a 50% stake in the wind farm, chose to cut bait rather than continue constructing the energy boondoggle. Indeed, Shell was willing to take a $1 billion impairment rather than work to complete the project that was slated to provide some 2,800 megawatts of power.

Not only was the construction of this offshore wind farm too costly for Shell to continue sinking money into it, but New Jersey residents would also pay higher electric bills following its completion.

According to a review by Whitestrand Consulting, the wind farm would have raised power bill rates by 11% for private residents and 13% to 15% for businesses. It would have cost residents a whopping $48 billion extra in electric costs over the wind farm’s lifetime.

Shell has now become the second major energy company to back out of the Atlantic Shores, with the Danish wind-energy company Ørsted pulling out in 2023. As with Shell, Ørsted cited costs as the leading reason it backed out.

Will Murphy finally give up on his “once-in-a-generation opportunity” that has proven to be little other than a green pipe dream? It looks like the practical reality of market costs and diminishing returns has finally gotten through to him.

The truth is, this has been the problem with green energy the entire time. It is simply neither cost-effective nor efficient enough to provide a viable solution to fossil fuel-based energy production. This is why “green energy” proponents have continuously framed “green” energy as “clean” energy — they want to guilt the public into supporting this vastly more expensive, less efficient, and less reliable energy source.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s newly confirmed Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has reversed the Biden administration’s anti-fossil fuel efforts and has opened up more land for drilling and mineral extraction. Instead of pitting renewables against fossil fuel-based energy, Trump has embraced an all-of-the-above approach. Let the free market dictate, because this will provide the lowest cost options for Americans. And no more politicians wasting their constituents’ money on what amounts to little other than a costly virtue signal.