By Jon S. Polevoy, Esq.
Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer

The environmental, economic and political consequences of fossil fuel energy sources are pushing us toward a future with a greater use of renewable energy sources, such as wind. New Jersey has taken a leading role toward promoting renewable energy sources. The state’s energy master plan seeks to promote the generation of at least 30 percent of the electricity need through renewable sources by the year 2020, including more than 1,000 megawatts of offshore wind power. New Jersey’s legislature has recently passed two bills aimed at promoting the development of wind energy systems by easing potential local land use restrictions and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has recently proposed rules aimed at facilitating permits to wind projects.

Wind power projects, both large and small, still face some formidable challenges before they can be successfully implemented. Those seeking to implement such projects will have to address technical, financing and permit issues both for the construction of the wind project and the placement of power lines to connect to the power grid. While each windmill (i.e., wind turbine) has a relatively small footprint, a wind farm, because of spacing requirements between wind turbines, requires a sizable footprint. With wind turbines typically ranging in height from 100 to 400 feet, objectionable visual and noise impacts to local residents should be anticipated. Potential bird strikes into wind turbines have also raised concerns regarding the impact of wind projects on threatened and endangered bird species. Also, with New Jersey recently opening up its energy credit market to national trading, the economic feasibility of some wind projects may change due to the reduced value of credits for wind-generated power.

As with other construction projects, wind projects in New Jersey also face permit issues related to wetlands and local land use/construction ordinances. NJDEP’s recently proposed rules would create a new permit-by-rule and two new coastal general permits for the construction of wind turbines. The proposed rules also identify locations where construction of large scale wind turbines would not be appropriate, as well as setting forth monitoring and impact assessment requirements. Because of these restrictions, large scale wind projects are likely to be built far offshore in federal ocean waters, thereby bring those projects under both federal and state regulatory jurisdiction and increasing the costs for connecting to the power grid. With a new regulatory framework for wind turbine projects on the horizon, project planners would be well advised to allot adequate time for permit issues and to address potential local opposition.

While wind power currently accounts for about only two percent of the total renewable energy consumed in the US, its use has been growing rapidly in recent years. Although wind power is unlikely to become a dominant source of energy in the future, there will be extensive development of this resource. New Jersey’s Atlantic County is already home to the first coastal wind farm in the country, and plans are already being made to put wind turbines in ocean waters off the New Jersey coastline. New Jersey municipalities plan on investing in them as well. This summer, Ocean Gate became the first municipality in New Jersey to construct a wind turbine and other municipalities are likely to follow.

Jon S. Polevoy is an attorney with Wilentz, Goldman, & Spitzer; he is involved in the company’s Environmental Law Team and Construction Industry Law Group. Visit Wilentz, Goldman, & Spitzer on the web at www.wilentz.com.