New Jersey recently put a stake in the ground, showing its continued leadership in promoting alternative energy. Actually, you might say it will put three stakes in the ocean – with plans to erect three meteorological towers along the South Jersey coast this summer.
In December, the state awarded three, $4 million rebates for the simultaneous construction of meteorological towers off the New Jersey shore. The grant recipients were Garden State Offshore Energy (GSOE), a venture jointly owned by PSEG and Deepwater Wind, Fishermen’s Energy and Bluewater Wind.
Moving forward with three projects instead of one makes sense.
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It recognizes the key role that offshore wind could play in meeting New Jersey’s aggressive renewable energy and carbon reduction targets, and it also recognizes the tremendous hurdles and uncertainties that remain for any offshore wind project.
The meteorological towers are designed to lessen some of the uncertainties. These towers will be the ultimate in multi-taskers. First and foremost, the towers will measure wind quality: how often it blows, at what strength, and for what duration. Picking a site with good wind is essential for success.
Second, the towers will be equipped with sonar to measure the movement of aquatic life in the area. Initial data from European offshore sites indicate that wind farms might actually promote sea life as smaller fish use the underwater structure for protection. The sonar studies will give us a baseline against which to measure change.
Finally, the towers will be outfitted with radar to measure bird activity. GSOE’s wind farm, at more than 16 miles off shore, is expected to be outside the migratory patterns of birds, but the radar will help determine the level of avian activity in this section of the ocean.
These studies will last 18 to 24 months. During this time, other uncertainties surrounding offshore wind should be lessened, as well. These include a yet-to-be-developed permitting process, unstable electric markets, and a challenging financing environment. Financing a billion-dollar project in this climate is difficult. Financing three is more so.
Finally, we need to clear the uncertainty surrounding state and federal tax and production incentives. Solar energy incentives recently were extended for seven years, but wind incentives are set to expire at the end of this year. This uncertainty hinders large-scale, longer-term wind projects. Extending these benefits for offshore wind should be a key energy priority for the new administration.
What’s your view? Please let us know at Opinion@PSEG.com.
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