On December 06, 2011, governor Chris Christie, published energy plan for New Jersey in which he plans to reduce carbon footprint 22.5% by 2021.
The plan is based on solar, natural gas, wind and nuclear power.
Offshore wind has been supported by the Christie Administration for a number of reasons. It is renewable, has no carbon output, and has the potential to develop a manufacturing and support industry within the State, thereby creating direct, indirect, and induced economic benefits for many years to come. OWEDA is based on all three of these elements being recognized in the review and cost-benefit analysis of any proposed offshore wind project. Although the capital cost of offshore wind is roughly twice the capital cost of onshore wind, offshore wind has higher and more consistent capacity factors than onshore wind, thus helping to reduce the net cost of producing energy and RECs from offshore locations. Capital costs increase with water depth, so the further away from shore and the deeper the installations, the more expensive the wind plant. Coastal and shallow water installations have the advantage of offshore wind characteristics at a lower cost.
The rules balance costs and benefits in the broader context of the overall impact on New Jersey’s manufacturing and employment objectives, as well as recognition of the potential benefits offshore wind energy has on the environment and retail electricity prices. To be eligible for ratepayer financing through ORECs, projects must demonstrate net economic and environmental benefits to the State. Currently, there are no offshore wind plants constructed in the U.S., no offshore wind projects that have completed project financing, with or without compensatory long-term power purchase agreements to shift the economic burden from developers to ratepayers. Hence, under the best of circumstances, new utility scale offshore wind projects are at least several years away. The Christie Administration intends that the OWEDA will incentivize the development of offshore wind manufacturing and construction companies in New Jersey. Since turbine blades for offshore wind plants are increasing in size, it is reasonable to assume that a turbine manufacturing facility will have to be located somewhere on the East Coast to provide blades for the growing list of proposed offshore wind facilities.
The Port of Paulsboro and the port district of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are well-positioned to become a major staging and assembly area to support New Jersey’s offshore wind program objectives as well as programs in other mid-Atlantic and northeast states. The Port of Paulsboro is undergoing dredging and other infrastructure renovations suited for the assembly of offshore wind turbines before they are loaded onto barges for transportation to the wind farm site.
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Offshore WIND staff, December 12, 2011; Image: GovChristie