New Jersey legislators have passed a bill designed to help Fishermen’s Energy build the 24MW Atlantic City offshore wind demonstration project.
The legislation now goes to governor Chris Christie to be signed into law but offshore wind proponents are not holding their breath.
A similar bill passed both houses in the last session, however, the governor vetoed the measure in January. Christie was running for the Republican presidential nomination and has now dropped out of the race, prompting hopes he may reconsider his stance.
New Jersey Sierra Club director Jeff Tittel urged the governor to approve the law.
“It’s been five years and the Christie administration has dragged its feet on wind while BOEM has auctioned leases off our coast,” said Tittel.
“The failure of the Christie administration to adopt rules for offshore wind or hold up projects like Fishermen’s Energy has cost New Jersey jobs and economic investments.”
The law would require the Board of Public Utilities to open a 30-day application window for qualified wind projects. The bill permits the board to approve a 20MW to 25MW scheme and authorize offshore wind renewable energy certificates.
The board previously rejected Fishermen’s pilot over cost and viability concerns. The project has since been reconfigured with six Siemens 4MW turbines installed three miles offshore in state waters.
The $220m demo has secured $50m in funding from the US Department of Energy but must meet certain milestones to get the full amount.
Larger projects are also in the works off New Jersey. US Wind and Dong Energy hold commercial leases for two sites with a combined 3.4GW potential.
The Christie government in 2010 directed the BPU to develop a REC programme to support at least 1100MW of offshore wind generation however the board has yet to draft regulations.
Image: Fishermen’s Energy met buoy on station off Atlantic City (Fishermen’s Energy)
