New Jersey Offshore Wind Farms Get Favorable Study Results

The movement for offshore wind farms is on along the East Coast. A two year study along New Jersey has just signaled a go for the industry with a favorable environmental finding.

The idea of offshore wind farms has made sense for a long time. The advantages are obvious. The farms don’t take up valuable land and don’t have to pay for it. Offshore areas offer some of the most consistent wind you will find anywhere. The energy is clean and a massive amount of it can be produced. All this being said, it wasn’t until the Cape Wind project in Massachusetts finally was approved that things started moving forward in other areas.

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New Jersey has been considering the possibility of wind farms off its coast for some time now. The Department of Environmental Protection has been performing a two year study on the environmental impact of putting farms off the coast. It’s conclusion? The farms would have negligible impacts on the environment. In practical terms, this means wind farms have overcome a legal hurdle and are that much closer to becoming a reality.

The study covers 1,360 square nautical miles between North Wildwood and Seaside Park. The study looked at whale and dolphin movement, fisheries and bird flight paths. Floor readings and water temperature findings were also analyzed. Taken into totality, the study created an environmental map of sensitive areas along the shore where farms should not be located and areas where the placement of large turbines would have no practical effect.

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There are currently four different projects proposed for the waters off New Jersey. The smallest is a 20 megawatt version a few miles off the shore of Atlantic City. The largest is a 350 megawatt monster farm well out to sea. This large farm would provide electricity to about 100,000 homes along the New Jersey coast, a considerable number.

Should we expect to see wind farms popping up all along the East Coast now that there is a precedent for them? In a word – yes. This is particularly true of larger farms that are located well off the shoreline and out of site. The return on investment for the power is simply too great to ignore.

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