A Good Wind Blows Offshore

Well, it's about time I could report some good news on the alternative energy front in New Jersey. A key regulatory hurdle was overcome and appears to have fast tracked a 350mw offshore wind farm in New Jersey waters off Atlantic City. It has the potential of being the first offshore wind farm project in the nation, although Delaware approved a similar project earlier this summer. I've been a critic of Gov. Corzine over the failure to move this project forward despite his push to increase New Jersey's alternative energy capabilities, and it appears that we're finally seeing movement.

The Record reports:

The plan calls for building 96 turbines 16 to 21 miles off Atlantic City and Avalon at a cost of $1.1 billion. Half would go online in 2012; the rest in 2013. They would be built by Garden State Offshore Energy, a joint venture between PSEG and Deepwater Wind of Hoboken.

The BPU awarded a $4 million start-up grant to the company this morning. The move essentially puts the project on a fast track through several regulatory agencies.

The decision could make New Jersey the first state to have an offshore wind farm although Delaware officials approved a plan this summer.

The 350 megawatts generated under the pilot project is enough electricity to power all the single-family homes in Passaic County plus all the single-family homes in Teaneck, Fair Lawn, Paramus, Ridgewood, Mahwah, Bergenfield, Dumont, Englewood and Hackensack.

Garden State Offshore Energy executives said their technology allows them to build wind turbines farther offshore than their competitors to reduce any concern about marring the view from the shoreline. They also touted a plan to use wind turbines to store compressed air in tanks that could be used to generate electricity when there is no wind.

The State DEP is conducting an environmental study to determine the impact of the wind farm project and while most environmental groups have supported the project, at least one claims that the wind farm would damage the ecology and habitat of sea life and increase pollution. Watch also for the idea that wind farms will alter local climate.

Regulatory approval is still required, and the companies need to obtain mineral permits to lease the area in which they hope to place the turbines.

Part of the reason for the high cost comes from the need to site the wind turbines far enough from shore that it wouldn't be seen. Jersey Shore politicians have tried to keep their views free from seeing the wind turbines, which follows zoning changes by some municipalities to limit siting of wind turbines. That means that rate payers would have to shoulder higher costs. Also, given the credit crisis, it's not clear whether the plan will move forward on the timetable proffered.