Hoboken-based Bluewater Wind, which wants to build a wind turbine park off Delaware's Atlantic coast, is interested in building a pilot project off New Jersey, according to a company official. Meanwhile, New Jersey is seeking proposals for offshore ecological studies - from Seaside Park to Stone Harbor - that would be completed by Sept. 30, 2009, at a cost of up to $4.5 million.

General Zoning/Planning New Jersey

A federal proposal to make New Jersey part of a special corridor for new electric power lines is cause for alarm, a state environmental group contends. "This designation would give utilities the right to use eminent domain to acquire private property to build their lines," said Jeff Tittel, head of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club. It would also encourage the production and transmission of electricity from coal-fired plants at a time when the state is trying to promote clean and renewable energy, Tittle warned.

General Zoning/Planning New Jersey

Offshore wind facilities are expected to have negligible to minor environmental impacts in general - "if the proper siting and mitigation measures are followed," a draft study says. But some activists faulted the draft environmental impact statement by the federal Minerals Management Service. The document covers technologies for tapping offshore wind, wave and current energy. The agency jumped to conclusions about the risks without having adequate information, said Eric Stiles, vice president for conservation and stewardship in the New Jersey Audubon Society. "It's grossly premature to conclude," for example, that impacts on birds will be only moderate, Stiles said.

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife General Zoning/Planning New Jersey

New Jersey's plan to spend $4.5 million to study birds and marine life offshore prior to a pilot project with up to 80 wind turbines has drawn mixed views from activists. "Our ocean deserves a robust, thorough, and scientifically valid study - not this bargain basement, blue-light special," according to a statement from Cynthia A. Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, a Sandy Hook-based coalition. Birds should be studied for three years before construction of offshore wind farms, according to a 2006 letter from a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service official. The proposed New Jersey ecological study would last for 18 months. While an 18-month study is "not an end-point," it's "a major milestone for moving forward in making informed and appropriate decisions regarding siting of wind turbines," said Eric Stiles, vice president for conservation and stewardship in the New Jersey Audubon Society.

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife General Zoning/Planning New Jersey

Steve Gallo, executive director of the Bayonne Municipal Utilities Authority, said he is looking for innovative ways to save money for the city, and reduce the cost of his authority's energy needs. One of these ways, he said, is the possibility of installing modern windmills on BMUA controlled land to harness wind gusts off New York Bay to generate power for the Oak Street pump station. "We are trying to use new technology to find ways of saving our energy costs," Gallo said. "This is evident with the recent installation of solar panels in our schools that makes Bayonne the largest non-power company to supply energy on the east coast." Two years ago, the municipal authority in South Plainfield installed a wind-generated turbine to run a station, and with Bayonne surrounded on three sides, Gallo figures he might be able to do the same things. Windmills have also been successfully installed at Atlantic County Utility Authority, and combined with solar panels it generates enough energy to run the plant.

General Zoning/Planning New Jersey

American Transport Systems, of Vineland, told the Cumberland County Economic Development Board Dec. 12 that it has been exploring putting up to 150 wind energy turbines along the Delaware Bay.

General Zoning/Planning New Jersey

Yet, despite the operation of New Jersey’s small wind project since January, there is uncertainty about whether wind farms, particularly gigantic turbines positioned off the region’s coastline, will be embraced here. On Long Island, a 40-turbine project being considered off the South Shore is facing stiff resistance from opponents who argue that the turbines will damage pristine ocean views, fail to deliver cost-effective electricity and create environmental problems. In New Jersey, powerful local politicians have lined up behind wind power, where up to 80 turbines — rising 380 feet or more above the water along the South Jersey coastline — have been proposed to take advantage of the near-constant breezes.

Pollution Taxes & Subsidies Energy Policy General Zoning/Planning Connecticut New Jersey New York

A local lawmaker has asked the Corzine administration to build more than 100 windmills off Atlantic City's shore.

General Zoning/Planning New Jersey

In an ambitious $3 billion plan, the nation's largest power generator has proposed building a 550-mile power line stretched atop 13-story towers to bring surplus electricity from coal-fired plants in Appalachia and the Midwest to the power-hungry eastern seaboard.

Zoning/Planning Maryland New Jersey Pennsylvania West Virginia

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.

Energy Policy Zoning/Planning USA New Jersey