If you’re cruising along the New Jersey shore, you may see a wind farm in the ocean off Atlantic City in a few years. Both houses of the New Jersey legislature now have approved a bill that could help the 24-megawatt project move forward; it gives the state’s Board of Public Utilities 90 days to consider an application by Fishermen’s Energy LLC to build the wind farm about 2.8 miles off Atlantic City.
Former Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, had rejected the plan. But new Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, says he wants to pursue it. The new bill would require half of the state’s energy to come from renewable energy by 2030.
The Sierra Club opposes the project, saying it’s too close to shore. For its part, Fishermen’s says the wind farm would be based on “an advanced bottom-mounted foundation design and innovative installation procedures to mitigate potential environmental impacts.”
Separately, a French energy company, Electricite de France SA, announced that it was going to buy the project from Fishermen’s as an entry into the U.S. renewable energy market. Read more:
