[ad_1]
New Jersey would see the number of wind power projects built off its coast double if three new projects proposed Friday are approved by regulators.
Two of them are more than twice as far out to sea than others that have drawn the ire of residents who don’t want to see windmills on the horizon. These two would not be visible from the beach, the companies proposing them say.
They would join three wind farms already approved by New Jersey regulators as the state races to become the East Coast capital of the fast-growing offshore wind industry.
The deadline for applications was 5 p.m. EST on Friday, and it was not immediately clear whether any additional applications were received by the state Board of Public Utilities before then.
In the first project to be made public Friday by the companies proposing it, Essen, Germany-based RWE and New York-based National Grid applied for permission to build a wind farm in the waters off Long Beach Island. Their joint venture is called Community Offshore Wind, and it aims to generate enough electricity to power 500,000 homes.
Unlike other projects that have drawn intense opposition from homeowners in part because they are close enough to the Atlantic City and Ocean City shorelines to be seen by beachgoers, this project would be built 37 miles (59 kilometers) offshore and would not be visible from the shore, said Doug Perkins, president and project director of Community Offshore Wind.
He said the project has “the potential to transform New Jersey into a nation-leading clean energy development, training and manufacturing hub.” He said his company is the second-largest wind power developer globally, following Danish wind developer Orsted.
Community Offshore said it has not yet determined how many wind turbines would be built as part of the project.
[ad_2]
