Atlantic City—Environment New Jersey praised Governor Corzine and New Jersey Board of Public Utilities President Jeanne Fox for establishing the most visionary program to promote off-shore wind energy in the nation. The plan was announced earlier today on the boardwalk in Atlantic City.
“Governor Corzine’s plan to power 800,000 homes with clean wind energy by 2020 is a gale force for change, moving us away from dirty power and towards a new energy future. It is the most visionary plan to promote off-shore wind energy in the nation,” said Dena Mottola Jaborska, Executive Director of Environment New Jersey.
The Governor’s plan includes the simultaneous construction of three off-shore wind farms, or 1000 MW and sets a goal to develop 3000 MW of energy from off-shore wind by 2020, enough energy to power 800,000 New Jersey homes.
There are currently no off-shore wind farms in operation in the United States, but Delaware and Rhode Island have both set plans to build one off their coasts in the next few years. Worldwide, there are currently ten small-scale off shore wind farms, with a total generating capacity of 1285 MW, and over 3000 MW of off shore wind capacity is in the planning stages across Europe.
“The Governor’s plan makes New Jersey a world wide leader in the promotion of wind energy. His action today is a clarion call to other coastal states around the nation to move quickly with plans to harness the tremendous wind energy potential that exists off our nation’s coasts. And it will have national policy implications as Congress crafts national clean energy and global warming solutions in the coming year,” said Mottola Jaborska.
In 2005, New Jersey passed a law requiring that 20% of the state’s electricity come from clean, renewable sources by 2020. The plan announced today will ensure off-shore wind energy fulfills roughly one-half of this requirement. Solar energy and landfill gas are expected to fulfill much of the rest, and emerging technologies such as wave power and small rooftop wind energy could also play a role.
Mottola Jaborska concluded, “The answer to our energy problems is blowing in the wind. Wind energy is clean and affordable. It holds the promise of economic security and a safer future free from the harmful effects of climate change. We applaud Governor Corzine’s for putting wind energy to work for New Jersey today.”
