Sparta - Officials announced last week they will put Sparta's proposed wind power project on hold for the time being and explore other alternative energy options. New Jersey recently opened its energy credit market to national trading, which reduced the value of credits the township could earn for wind generated power. This would lessen the return on Sparta's investment in the project, rendering it substantially less cost effective. In other words, this attempt to go green will not bring in enough green to make it worthwhile.

Since July of 2008, the township has explored the possibility of constructing a wind turbine in the wind-rich Germany Flats area near White Lake. Originally, the plan was to construct one large turbine of 200 feet and cost projections were based on the efficiency of this model. However, the manufacturer ceased production of this model and officials then looked at two smaller turbines instead. The town received government funding to cover part of the project and determined that after those funds were applied, the initial investment would be around $470,000. The purpose was to reduce energy costs for the town and to reap a steady stream of income from Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). One REC is issued for every 1,000 kilo-watt hours, or 1 mega-watt hour of electricity generated from a renewable energy source. Opening the REC market to national commodity trading created a glut on the market, and individual REC values dropped from $50 to $3 each.

Sparta officials are now rethinking the wind project. Mayor Scott Seelagy said this week, "Since these energy credits have been drastically reduced, the project is not economically feasible for the town." Seelagy said he has asked township engineering and technology professionals to make a presentation at the next meeting regarding other alternative energy options, specifically solar.

The wind project is not completely scrapped, but another wind study at the Germany Flats site will be conducted for one year before a final decision is made. Since the original financial feasibility of the project was based on a turbine no longer available and a different REC structure, a new study will be done to test the wind energy output of the new models within the current REC structure.

For much of the last decade, New Jersey has been a leader in wind energy generation. The first coastal wind farm in the United States is the 7.5 megawatt Jersey-Atlantic facility outside of Atlantic City, built in 2005. The five state of the art windmills, or turbines, soar 380 feet into the air, reaching higher than some of the city's famous casinos, and are visible from downtown Atlantic City and the Atlantic City expressway. The wind facility produces approximately 19 million kilowatt hours of green electricity per year, enough to power over 2,000 homes. The electricity is used by both the Atlantic County Utilities Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant and is also delivered to the regional electric grid.

In 2008 New Jersey approved a huge 346 megawatt offshore wind farm to be built off the coast of Atlantic and Ocean Counties. The proposal by Garden State Offshore Energy calls for 96 turbines to be installed in a grid pattern between 16 and 20 miles from the shore in 100 feet of water, deeper than most other off-shore wind farms. The $1 billion project will produce electricity by 2013 and is part of the state's master plan which calls for 20 percent of the state's energy to come from renewable sources by 2020.

Wind blows more reliably during the day farther offshore so GSOE hopes to get higher prices for their energy from the power market during peak times. The facility will be built with as much as $19 million in state grants. The deep-water turbines could produce enough energy to help the company break even in seven years.

By installing the turbines so far from shore, the company hopes to prevent opposition from environmentalists and residents who say the wind turbines would disrupt their ocean views and endanger wildlife.

Delaware and Rhode Island have also recently approved offshore wind farms and officials now say New York may not be far behind.