A state panel evaluating proposals for an offshore wind turbine pilot project will have until Oct. 2 instead of Aug. 20 to make a recommendation to the state Board of Public Utilities.

The panel needs more time to evaluate five companies' proposals, some of which are "large, extensive," Doyal H. Siddell, a BPU spokesman, said Thursday.

But the six-week delay did not sit well with two observers.

"It's unconscionable for the state bureaucracy to be blocking approvals when families and businesses are suffering daily from outrageous energy costs," state Sen. John H. Adler, D-Camden, a Senate Environment Committee member, said in an e-mailed statement. "It's time to expedite approvals for the offshore windmill project."

"I'm concerned that . . . it seems things keep getting delayed and delayed," said Jeff Tittel, director of the Sierra Club's New Jersey chapter.

Some environmental groups support building wind farms off the Jersey Shore as sources of clean, renewable energy. Others have noted that environmental studies have not been finished and federal rules to govern projects are not yet in place.

The BPU is offering up to $19 million to help support an offshore wind turbine pilot project, and five companies have submitted proposals.

BPU staff Wednesday asked for an extension for the evaluation committee, which will also allow it to invite company representatives in to answer questions, Siddell said.

When the BPU announced the availability of the $19 million last October, the money was projected to be awarded in March, according to an October statement on the Web.