The Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority has been given the OK by the state Department of Environmental Protection to go out to bid for construction of a 380-foot-tall, energy-producing wind turbine, officials said. ...The project price tag is estimated around $7.7 million. ...Union Beach officials have opposed the project, and they sent a formal objection in writing to the DEP in September.

A plan for an energy-producing wind turbine proposed by the Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority must satisfy several state Department of Environmental Protection regulations before actual construction can start, state officials said. ...PEER Director Bill Wolfe, a former DEP analyst, said the authority wants to start construction before finishing required studies on any environmental impact the turbine might have on area bird life.

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.

If energy-generating wind turbines are built in the Atlantic Ocean off New Jersey, the state wants to limit how close to shore they can be. New rules proposed by the state's Department of Environmental Protection would ban such projects in all state-controlled ocean waters except for a half-mile wide strip from 2.5 miles offshore to the end of state waters at the 3-mile mark. ...the move is a result of concerns about the environmental impact of large offshore wind farms, particularly on migratory birds and bats.

The three companies planning to construct wind farms off the New Jersey coast have agreed to not pursue any restrictions on fishing near the operations, which means commercial fisherman would be allowed to harvest their bounty between the turbines while anglers, pot fishermen and even scuba divers could fish right next to the structures.

Fishermen's Energy of New Jersey, one of three companies looking to create wind farms off of Atlantic City, is beginning to take scientific surveys to determine exactly where the wind farm should be located.

What good is a wind turbine if you have nowhere to put it? Cape May-based Fishermen's Energy is looking for the perfect spot to place a meteorological tower during a weeklong mission that is expected to begin within the next week about 10 miles off the Ocean City.

Unlike the deluded hero Don Quixote, municipal officials in this Bayshore town think they have the clout to derail a giant windmill proposed for their town. In this case, it's a 380-foot wind turbine with 118-foot blades that, according to a plan proposed by the Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority, would sit on authority property in the west end of this 1.2-square-mile town.

Imagine more than 100 wind turbines dotting the Delaware Bay. Each reaches more than 400 feet into the sky, spinning slowly in the wind as they harness it to power more than 125,000 homes. Sound far-fetched? Delsea Energy wants to raise 106 wind turbines on the bay to produce about 381.6 megawatts of energy.

The federal government today issued five leases to allow wind-energy companies to explore the possibility of building wind farms off the coast of New Jersey and Delaware. In a news conference with Gov. Jon Corzine, U.S. Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar called the leases, the first of their kind issued by the federal government.

Offshore wind farms dotting the Atlantic Ocean are moving further into the future as the federal government gets ready to launch its plans for regulating such projects across the country. ...The framework for how companies can develop offshore energy projects other than oil and natural gas is scheduled to be unveiled later this month.

The Department of the Interior has given Bluewater Wind approval to build a weather testing station off Rehoboth Beach. Bluewater Wind announced Wednesday that it has approval to build two meteorological towers off Rehoboth Beach and New Jersey's coast.

One of Bluewater Wind's top officers is leaving to join a competing offshore wind farm developer.

A study will look into the possibility of constructing a wind farm in the Delaware Bay off the shores of three Cumberland County communities. The project was announced Monday by Toms River-based Delsea Energy LLC, after the company filed its initial permitting application with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Three companies will have to build taxpayer-funded meteorological towers miles off New Jersey's coast this year before state officials will allow them to construct the region's first offshore wind farms. The towers built by Garden State Offshore Energy, Bluewater Wind and Fishermen's Energy of New Jersey will monitor everything from wind speed to bird migratory patterns.

A state rebate program to help offset the cost of installing solar, wind and biopower technologies became re-energized this month - a key incentive to convincing more residents and businesses to commit to renewable energy projects. But a question of funding availability, the economic downturn and general uncertainty about the market are not giving some installers much optimism about the Renewable Energy Incentive Program.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine wants New Jersey to become the offshore wind power capital of the U.S., but an array of financial, environmental and other hurdles lies in his path. ...Several environmental activists say Corzine's 2012 target may be unrealistic.

Offshore wind farms are moving one step closer to reality, and three companies will take the same step at the same time. ...While the utility companies are glad to be moving forward, some environmental groups are concerned that moving multiple projects ahead at the same time might be risky. "There doesn't seem to be a comprehensive, step-by-step plan to achieve these 1,000 megawatts in an environmentally sound manner," said Jennifer Samson, principal scientist for the environmental group Clean Ocean Action. "We just really don't know how that's going to happen."

Under the rebate program, $4 million per meteorological station would be awarded, provided the weather station is up and running in 2009, and it's for a wind farm that generates at least 200 megawatts worth of energy. Garden State Offshore Energy's proposed wind farm is expected to generate 346 megawatts when completed. The weather stations would collect data on wind speed, direction and other areas of interest to the companies deploying the wind farms.

New Jersey is one step closer to bringing an offshore wind farm to the coasts of the U.S. Garden State Offshore Energy (GSOE), a joint venture between utility Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) Renewable Generation and Deepwater Wind, was selected by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities today to build an offshore wind farm far off the Jersey coastline. The proposed 350-megawatt wind farm would consist of 96 turbines nearly 20 miles offshore. GSOE will receive a $4 million state grant to help cover permitting costs and spur project financing though the final project, to be completed by 2012, will likely cost well over $1 billion, according to the state.