TRENTON — An 89-page interim report released Wednesday outlines progress made by a task force investigating the pros and cons of building wind turbines offshore, but offers no insight into which way it's tilting. The panel will save its findings until its work is completed in March, when it's expected to offer a comprehensive report to Gov.-elect Jon S. Corzine.

A nearly yearlong effort by the state to figure out the benefits and drawbacks of offshore, energy-producing wind farms is leaving some environmental groups less than blown away.

(TRENTON) – The Blue Ribbon Panel on Development of Wind Turbine Facilities in Coastal Waters today announced their interim report is publicly available and a public meeting has been scheduled to solicit feedback on the report. Acting Governor Richard J. Codey established the Blue Ribbon Panel by executive order last December. The panel is charged with studying the costs and benefits of developing offshore wind turbines. The interim report represents the progress to date toward meeting Codey’s mandate.

Offshore wind turbines may not provide substantial benefits to the state's environment and could come with some risks, a report by released today states.

November 30, 2005, 8:39 PM EST TRENTON, N.J. -- A panel appointed to determine if New Jersey should build energy-generating wind turbines off the coast has released an interim report that _ while it draws no conclusions _ has been criticized by some environmentalists as giving short shrift to wind energy benefits.

November 29, 2005 Newark, New Jersey [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] New Jersey already has the most generous solar incentives in the nation, and if new policies are adopted to the state's broad requirements, solar and all renewable energy technologies will stand to gain greatly over the next decade and beyond.

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection scientists have opposed wind energy development in the Delaware Bay, which could cut down an Ocean County firm's plans for 106 wind turbines there. Delsea Energy continues to push for the project and has applied for the right to measure wind and other bay-related data that could lead to the turbines' construction there. However, DEP scientists and the Atlantic Flyway Council have raised concerns about the effect the project would have on wildlife. A DEP assistant commissioner wrote last month "that the Delaware Bay is not an appropriate area for development of wind energy." Scott Brubaker, the DEP's assistant commissioner for land use management, informed Delsea Energy in this Aug. 20 letter "that the Delaware Bay is not an appropriate area for development of wind energy." The full letter with attachments can be accessed by clicking on the link below. Follow-up e-mails between the wind developer and NJ DEP can also be accessed.

During the past 15 months, this Blue Ribbon Panel has identified myriad costs and benefits related to development of offshore wind turbine facilities in New Jersey’s coastal waters. Because of the lack of basic scientific data, however, this Panel cannot characterize the appropriateness of offshore wind development for this state’s coastal waters. Nonetheless, this Panel has found that New Jersey is facing a serious and growing energy crisis that must be addressed. New Jersey must assume a leadership role and set an example of responsible development of energy technologies that are reliable, renewable, and low-or zero-emission.

"Offshore wind power development has potential to generate a series of quantifiable environmental benefits. These benefits appear significant in both absolute and monetized terms, but are arguably marginal relative to the scale of existing energy production and emissions affecting New Jersey's environmental and natural resources. Offshore wind power development also presents a series of potential environmental costs. In the absence of a developed literature, the scale of many of these costs are not readily quantified or monetized, making the nature of these impacts highly uncertain and necessitating additional research." (page 70)

New Jersey Audubon Society (NJAS) and its 20,000 members generally support environmentally-responsible renewable energy sources, such as wind power, photovoltaic cells, geothermal and hydro-fuel cells. Because traditional energy sources contribute to global climate change, habitat change and degradation, smog pollution, mercury contamination in our waterways, and radioactive waste, NJAS recognizes the importance of developing emission-free sources of energy. However, we are concerned about the potential impacts of these developing technologies on wildlife, and natural habitats.

Instead of messing with farms, let's put solar and wind energy facilities where they belong. ...This legislation tries to satisfy one societal need - clean energy - by compromising another - preserved farmland. Perhaps it's easier to place clean power generation facilities on open land than retrofit other sites, but this tendency to look to greenfields to satisfy new development needs is precisely the kind of practice that has brought so much sprawl to New Jersey.

Of the proposals under consideration, at least one would be off the coast of Ocean County, 18 miles from Long Beach Island. Although a study prepared for the BPU noted the impact of wind farms off the Jersey coast on the fishing and tourism industries would be temporary and relatively minimal, it indicated there was far greater sensitivity to the visual impact of wind farms in Ocean County than in Cape May and Atlantic counties. The BPU should take that into account. ...The projected loss of tourism revenue would drop off dramatically if wind farms were located 6 miles or more off the coast.

The issue of constructing these 500 kV power lines is being fought throughout the country. Debates and litigation are ongoing in Virginia, Pennsylvania, California, Florida and Canada. The issue relates to the fact that these transmission lines are of a size and strength few have seen. At the Montville meeting, PSE&G was unable to address the mayor's desire to drive within one to two hours and see these proposed 190-foot towers. I accept the fact that when I purchased my home three years ago it was near a current right of way, but the idea that towers can go from 85 feet up to 190 feet without any impact on my property value is ludicrous.

But before you go all wacky for wind power, certain opposition groups like the Industrial Wind Action Group and National Wind Watch want you to hear their side of the story. Their claims are more than just not-in-my-backyard, wet-blanket-complaints. They believe the wind energy industry is spinning lies along with the turbines, luring large public subsidies for a system that is, at best, secondary to fossil fuels.

Governor Corzine's energy master plan for New Jersey calls for a reduction of 20 percent in energy consumption by 2020. It also proposes that by that same year, just 12 years hence, 22.5 percent of the state's electricity should come from renewable sources, chiefly wind and solar, up from 2 percent now. Further, New Jersey emissions of greenhouse gases should be reduced by 20 percent. These goals are remarkable. Energy use has been growing steadily. Nearly half the state's power plants are 30 years old or older. Some will have to be replaced, sooner or later. ...Some interesting things are happening, but as for the 2020 goals set by Corzine, he, and we, had better not get our hopes up.

In an attempt to help meet Gov. Jon Corzine's targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the state, several developers submitted proposals last week to construct offshore wind farms. If a proposal is accepted, it would be the first offshore wind farm in the United States ...Given that the projected cost of a proposal could reach $1.4 billion, there is a concern as to who will pay for the construction of the wind farm. The developer will outlay the cost. If the project is not subsidized, the high original cost would most likely be passed along to the energy consumer.

The state Board of Public Utilities is ready to commit up to $1.9 million now and $19 million over time to entice private companies to study and prepare grant applications for a wind turbine project off the Jersey coast. ...But the environmental impact and economic questions about offshore wind farms have not been answered. The impact on fishing, wildlife and shipping is important to the state. So is the cost of locating, maintaining and operating such a project. Until it has those answers, the state is "putting the cart before the horse," as Tim Dillingham of the American Littoral Society said after learning of the BPU's solicitation.

If you're expecting the mainstream media to tell you the truth about wind power, I will be happy to come by and read some fairy tales to you. Wind farms are one of those trendy, environmental fairy tales about "alternative" energy sources that will save us all from burning coal to provide electricity because, according the Great Big Book of Environmentally Bad Things, it's "a fossil fuel" and it "pollutes."

In the absence of a state energy master plan defining how much real energy Corzine believes will come from offshore wind, a hard look at it in relation to overall energy demand and the ability to replace fossil fuel sources or address global climate change is needed. Offshore wind farms are not the answer to our energy problems. Industrial wind farms are expensive and inefficient: They cost hundreds of millions of dollars (much of it public money) and need thousands of turbines to produce relatively small amounts of electricity in relation to New Jersey's overall demand. Even then, they will have only a minimal impact on emissions that contribute to global cli mate change, and won't affect sea level rise at the Jersey Shore. A realistic look at the environmental benefits of expensive offshore wind facilities leads one to conclude that we should invest scarce public resources in more effective means of reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions -- which is absolutely necessary in the face of global warming and its effects on New Jersey.

Wake up, New Jersey, before more of your tax dollars are wasted on Gov. Corzine's offshore wind farm. ...In these hard financial times, our state and federal governments need to invest taxpayer dollars more wisely than they have. Alternative energy sources are needed, but they must make financial sense. Windmills on land are borderline cost-effective, and that's only because of energy subsidies. Windmills in the north Atlantic never will come close to recovering their cost. If something doesn't make financial sense, we should be looking at who will benefit from its construction. New Jersey citizens will not benefit from this ocean wind farm. Electric costs will rise because of it. Someone needs to follow the money to see who will benefit.