Politics & Government

Unhappy With BPU, Legislature Looks to Get Offshore Wind Moving

Proposal would have offshore wind projects financed by state's four utilities, with upfront investments recovered from consumers

By Tom Johnson, Courtesy of NJ Spotlight

The Legislature is trying to jumpstart offshore wind farms, a move spurred by frustration with the Christie administration’s failure to adopt regulations to make it happen in New Jersey. A bill (A-4538) introduced last Thursday by the deputy speaker of the Assembly John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester) proposes to have offshore wind projects financed by the state’s four electric utilities, which would recover the money from consumers -- and then some.

The legislation comes at a time when the state Board of Public Utilities has come under increasing criticism for not adopting a financing mechanism to promote offshore wind farms along the Jersey coast, a goal once strongly supported by both the Legislature and the Christie administration.

Without such a mechanism, offshore wind farms will never happen in New Jersey, according to industry experts. The BPU was supposed to adopt regulations detailing how offshore wind developers would be paid for the electricity produced by their turbines by March 2011, but still has not done so.

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“The intent is pretty clear,’’ said Burzichelli, the sponsor of the bill, adding that he is frustrated by the delays in moving the projects forward. “It’s to get something started. It sends a clear message to figure out how to get it done.’’

Read more at NJSpotlight.com

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NJ Spotlight is an issue-driven news website that provides critical insight to New Jersey’s communities and businesses. It is non-partisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded.


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