Environmental advocates are applauding plans to develop offshore wind off the coast of New Jersey in a part of the ocean known as the New York Bight. Last week, six companies were awarded lease areas totaling nearly 500,000 acres after completing a competitive bidding process worth more than $4 billion.

The projects developed on the lease sites could provide enough electricity to power 2 million homes, a big step in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and fight climate change. But there are some concerns about the negative impacts on marine life.