Green Jersey

N.J. Newspapers: It’s time for offshore wind energy

Above: Wind turbines off the coast of Norfolk, England.

Photo © Copyright Bob Crook

Editorials in yesterday’s Press of Atlantic City and today’s Times of Trenton call for the state to build an offshore wind farm already.

Recently, several developers submitted proposals for wind power facilities off the Jersey Shore; if one is accepted, it could become the first offshore wind farm in the country.

We didn’t get to this point quickly. Four years ago, Gov. Codey ordered a study of offshore windmills. He put a 15-month moratorium on the funding of such projects, which irked some environmentalists and pleased others. (Shore and ocean-focused groups wanted the technology tested to prevent harm to migratory birds and the tourism industry; groups with a broader focus said Codey’s move could deter clean energy development.) Click here to read the April 2006 report, which basically concludes that while there’s not enough data to put the concerned environmentalists at ease, we should move forward because we’re in an energy crisis.

In October, the N.J. Board of Public Utilities solicited proposals for offshore wind developments, allocating up to $19 million for a project (a fraction of the potential total, which could reach $1.4 billion, says the Trenton Times.) This week, the BPU received three solid proposals from companies competing for the grant money, according to the Press:

Public Service Enterprise Group, of Newark, wants to build 96 windmills 16 miles off Cape May and Atlantic counties. Bluewater Wind, of Hoboken, proposes 116 windmills 15.5 miles off Atlantic City. And Fishermen’s Energy of New Jersey, headed by Daniel Cohen, who also is president of Atlantic Cape Fisheries in Cape May, wants to build 74 windmills in two stages 3 to 7 miles off Atlantic City.

The Press likes wind energy because it doesn’t generate greenhouse gases, it’s safer than nuclear energy and it’s been shown to work in the U.S. and Europe (as well as near A.C., in a small project at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority). And this is the place for it, the Press says:

The plentiful wind and gently sloping ocean bottom off New Jersey - not to mention the East Coast’s mammoth energy needs - would seem to make the state a prime location for trying out offshore wind energy.

Says the Trenton Times:

The state should carefully consider each proposal and choose in a timely manner the one that would best meet the needs of the state and the environment. Constructing a wind farm and using wind power is a great step toward reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and going green.

But the concerned environmentalists are still wondering how wind turbines will effect the ecosystem into which they are placed. From the website of Clean Ocean Action (COA):

The State has allocated $4.5 million for an 18-month, ecological, baseline study of certain birds, marine mammals, turtles, and other offshore species. The study has not yet begun and therefore the BPU will award a contract to a developer before the ecological effects are even assessed. COA is also concerned that the State is only allocating $4.5 million to a complex and important study of the marine environment, but will award over four times as much to a developer to build the project.

Green Jersey will follow this story as it develops.