NJ BPU moves on Off-shore Wind Power
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities - Press Release - 10/04/07 excerpt without comment
Board of Public Utilities Approves First Step towards Exploring Off-shore Wind Development in New Jersey
Offshore Wind Grant Solicitation provides funding source for offshore wind test project
(Newark, NJ) – The Board of Public Utilities today unanimously approved an offshore wind competitive grant solicitation with up to $19 million in funding to support the financing and development of an offshore wind pilot. As part of this funding the Board will provide up to 10 percent of the total incentive upfront to help conduct the needed studies and prepare needed permit applications.
The successful grant will build an aggregate capacity of up to 350 MW of offshore renewable wind electricity. This capacity represents enough electricity to power approximately 125,000 homes. Criteria to be considered in the awarding of the grant include:
- Location in the study area from the DEP ecological baseline study, extending 20 miles offshore from Seaside Park to Stone Harbor (72 miles of the NJ coastline)
- Assist in relieving or reducing congestion in the ACE distribution system and the PJM transmission systemz
- Demonstrate an ability to finance construction through market sources, which may include tax exempt bond financing through EDA.
The Board will accept proposals for funding up to and including January 16, 2008, with the award projected for March of 2008. The evaluation committee will chose a proposed winner to recommend to the Board if a proposal meets the relevant criteria, but reserves the right not to make an award if no acceptable proposal is received.
“Governor Corzine has been very clear that the State will not move forward with construction if upcoming studies or analyses conducted by the Department of Environmental Protection and Commerce indicate that the construction or operation of this pilot project will have unacceptable adverse impacts on the environment, the economy or tourism,” ...said Board of Public Utilities President Jeanne M. Fox.
The grant solicitation will be available in full at the end of this week on the New Jersey Clean Energy website, at www.njcleanenergy.com.
Big Deal! They tried the same thing in Mass. and the bigwigs (including the Kennedys) in the neighborhood said windmills 12 miles out would ruin their view. Their VIEW! In NJ, the most corrupt state in the Union, fat cats will be buying off the solicitation panel OR the politicians that vote on it or whoever they need to. I fear this is an excercise in futility...and a very expensive one at that. Personally, I think they look majestic and sleek. And at 12 miles out...very small. But the people with beachfront property are worried that their 1/4th acre worth $2,000,000 will somehow be devalued.
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I can beat that...
In January 2007 the State of California launched its program to encourage residents of the Golden State to install solar panels with the ambitious goal of generating 3 gigawatts of electricity from the arrays by 2016. The $3.3 billion California Solar Initiative (CSI) is ahead of schedule owing to the enthusiasm of 5,109 homeowners, businesses and non-profits that applied in the first 9 months. A study by the California Public Utilities Commission measures the applications represent 160 megawatts of solar energy. There's no way to tell if the pace will continue but this incentive program is the state's most successful to date.
About 70 percent of applications are from locations in Northern California, through the offices of San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). 90% of the applications are for residential rooftop solar panels but 87% of the green megawattage will result from the arrays being installed by business, governments and non-profits. California will pay a rebate of $2.50 per watt generated by a solar array but payments have been slow. Reports are that early adapter customers of Southern Cal Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric waited over 113 days for checks. Relief from this comes from some installation contractors who will deduct rebates from the system's upfront cost.
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