April 22, 2006

The Honorable Jon S. Corzine
Office of the Governor

P.O. Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625
Dear Governor Corzine:

On behalf of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Development of Wind Turbine Facilities in Coastal Waters, I am pleased to submit the enclosed report to you as required by Executive Order 12 (Codey). Pursuant to the Order, this report contains policy recommendations regarding the appropriateness of developing offshore wind turbine facilities for
New Jersey’s coastal waters.

During the process leading to submission of this report, the Blue Ribbon Panel received testimony at six public hearings, including at least one in each of New Jersey’s four oceanfront counties. We also received numerous documents by mail and through our Web site, www.njwindpanel.org. Members of this Panel, as well as staff from the three agencies assisting us, each brought a particular and invaluable expertise to bear as we investigated the issues addressed in this report. Through this process, ours became the first state to conduct a fully transparent investigation of the costs and benefits of developing offshore wind turbine facilities.

New Jersey faces a serious and growing energy crisis. The rapidly rising cost of electricity threatens economic growth and the quality of life in this state. Because no single source of renewable power can solve our energy crisis, we believe New Jersey must assume a leadership role in addressing these issues and aggressively tackle this problem on multiple fronts.

While this Panel has found there is a lack of comprehensive information on potential impacts of offshore wind turbine development, these facilities show promise as part of New Jersey's long-term energy solution. Therefore, it is the recommendation of this panel that New Jersey proceed with a limited test project only, not to exceed 350
megawatts, to obtain practical knowledge of benefits and impacts resulting from offshore wind turbine facilities. These efforts must be preceded by scientific baseline studies that collect basic data about the existence, location and nature of New Jersey’s offshore natural resources, in addition to information regarding potential economic impacts of offshore wind.

Very truly yours,
Edward J. McKenna, Jr.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction

This report, including the enclosed specific policy recommendations, is intended to satisfy the third charge set out by Executive Order 12 (Codey), that this Panel submit to the Governor a report providing policy recommendations regarding the appropriateness of developing offshore wind turbine facilities.

Final Report Findings

• New Jersey faces a serious and growing energy crisis that cannot be ignored.

• New Jersey must be a leader in developing clean, renewable sources of energy.

• New Jersey must face its energy problems with bold action on multiple fronts.

• Based on information available today, offshore wind turbine technology offers a range of potential benefits and possible drawbacks.

• Too much remains unknown to characterize the appropriateness of offshore wind development for New Jersey’s coastal waters.

• Some of the unknown and/or incomplete information can be learned through practical application of the technology.

Recommendations

1) To protect the state’s economic and environmental resources, ensure sound planning for use of the offshore area, and inform development of federal rules regulating such use, New Jersey should adopt this Panel’s findings and recommendations as an affirmative statement of policy.

2) New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities should incorporate this Panel’s findings and recommendations into its forthcoming Energy Master Plan.

3) The Commerce, Economic Growth & Tourism Commission should undertake a consumer intercept opinion survey summer 2006 to collect data necessary to quantify visitors’ primary reasons for travel to New Jersey and measure the attitudes of these visitors to the sight of offshore wind turbines at various distances offshore.

4) The state should conduct baseline studies of New Jersey’s coastal waters to inform federal rules regulating use of such areas, to develop spatial and temporal information regarding ocean uses and living natural resources, and to assess tourism and related economic sectors.

5) While this Panel has identified an absence of information regarding the various possible impacts of offshore wind turbines, it believes the potential of the technology as a renewable energy source should be explored further. Following collection of baseline data, this should be done through a carefully monitored and tightly controlled test project.

6) Planning for a test project must proceed with caution; its development must be preceded, accompanied, and followed by collection and analysis of scientifically valid data and monitoring of
environmental and economic impacts of the project. These data should be used to determine if future development is necessary and/or appropriate. No further offshore wind development should proceed until these data have been studied for consistency with the guiding principles developed by this Panel and the coastal policies of this state.

Conclusion

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.

In light of recent notice that a federal regulatory program governing energy uses over the continental shelf will be developed, New Jersey should anticipate that a determination regarding development of offshore wind facilities will be made—with or without New Jersey’s input—within this federal process. The state should act immediately to collect information necessary to establish a permitting program that protects New Jersey’s economic and environmental interests.

Despite a lack of adequate information on the potential impacts of offshore wind turbine facilities, this Panel believes such technology should be explored for inclusion as part of the solution to New Jersey’s energy problems. It is expected that a carefully planned, executed and limited offshore wind test project will yield important information currently unavailable. Development of such a project would serve not only as an investment in an innovative source of renewable energy, but also as an investment in knowledge that will guide New Jersey as it continues to address population growth and increased energy demand, while balancing the need to protect its economy and ecologically valuable natural and wildlife resources.