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New Jersey

Updated July 2010

Contacts:

Overview of Status:

New Jersey currently has three offshore wind farms in various stages of the permitting process. To facilitate development, the state passed legislation in June 2010 that will provide up to $100 million in tax credits to offshore wind developers. The state also funded a rebate program for the construction of met towers off its coast. An extensive environmental baseline study projected that offshore wind development would have negligible environmental impacts.

Proposed Projects:

Garden State Offshore Energy: 350 MW proposed project

In 2007 the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities issued a "Solicitation for Proposals to Develop Off-Shore Wind Renewable Energy Facilities Supplying Electricity to the Distribution System Serving New Jersey." This solicitation offered a $19 million, five-year production credit for construction and operation of an up-to-350 MW facility. Five proposals were submitted, and Garden State Offshore Energy (GSOE, a joint venture betweeen PSEG Renewable Generation and Deepwater Wind) was announced as the winner.

GSOE plans to build a 350 MW offshore wind farm approximately 16 miles off the New Jersey coast. GSOE also submitted a straw proposal for an offshore wind carve-out within New Jersey's RPS. The New Jersey Clean Energy Program has an Offshore Wind Working Group which is considering adoption of this offshore wind carve-out.

Bluewater Wind: 350 MW proposed project

Bluewater Wind won state support for a 350 MW project off the New Jersey coast. This company receieved one of the $4 million rebates for constructing a meteorological tower, which should be operational in 2010.

Fishermen's Energy: near-term 20 MW proposed project, longer-term 330 MW project

Fishermen's Energy, "a consortium formed by principals of East Coast fishing companies", has received support for a preliminary 20 MW project approximately three miles off Atlantic City. The consortium currently has an environmental monitoring buoy operating at this location. Fishermen's Energy plans to build a larger, 330 MW project seven miles off the New Jersey coast. They believe that offshore wind development is aligned with fishermen's values and skills, in terms of sustainable use of marine resources.

Policy and Regulation:

One June 28, 2010, the New Jersey Senate passed the Offshore Wind Economic Development Actwhich will provide up to $100 million in tax credits to developers. It also directs the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to create an Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate (OREC) program.

New Jersey has a RPS of 30% renewable by 2020. Offshore wind will play a central role in realizing this ambition.

The New Jersey BPU authorized a rebate program for the construction of meteorological towers off the state's coast. Each qualified offshore wind developer who completes the rebate application can receive $4 million for the meteorological tower construction, provided that the met tower is operational in 2009. Funding for the rebate program is coming from the New Jersey Clean Energy Program 2009 budget.

In October 2008 the state government published the New Jersey Energy Master Plan. Offshore wind energy will play a central role in meeting the goals articulated in this plan. New Jersey has an RPS of 30% renewable energy by 2020, with 1,000 MW of offshore wind energy by 2012, and 3,000 MW by 2020.

In 2006, The Blue Ribbon Panel on Development of Wind Turbine Facilities in Coastal Waters declared its recommendation that New Jersey allow a first project of less than or equal to 350 MW capacity and then closely monitor and assess this project. Click here to view the panel's final report.

Studies, Research and Development:

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued a RFP for an extensive 18 month Ocean/Wind Power Ecological Baseline Study. The study area was waters up to 20 miles off the New Jersey (approximately the 100-ft. contour), excluding Delaware Bay and other specified areas. The intention of this study was to fulfill a recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Panel to assist in siting offshore renewable energy projects. This contract was awarded to Geo-Marine Inc. and included acoustical, oceanographic, radar, and thermal imaging. The $7 million study was completed in June 2010 (the full report is to be published in July), and it predicted “negligible impacts to bird, fish and marine mammal life” resulting from offshore wind farms. A news article about the study is available here.

The New Jersey BPU commissioned a New Jersey Offshore Wind Energy Feasibility Study which was completed in 2004. The study and accompanying report were prepared by the Atlantic Renewable Energy Corporation and by AWS Scientific, Inc.

The New Jersey Clean Energy Program (which has an Offshore Wind Working Group) has substantial information resources to support alternative energy initiatives in the state, particulary offshore wind development.