New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order that directs the state Board of Public Utilities to implement an offshore wind law and begin working on a program to support 3,500 MW of offshore wind by the 2030.
Executive Order 8 requires the BPU to implement the 2010 Offshore Wind Economic Development Act, which stalled under former Gov. Chris Christie, and start a rulemaking process to create an offshore wind renewable energy credit, or OREC, program. The order follows Executive Order 7, which Murphy signed on Jan. 29 to begin the process of adding the state back into the carbon credit trading program the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Christie formally withdrew the state from the program in 2012.
"Today, New Jersey will end the nearly eight years of stalling and stonewalling," Murphy said referring to the lack of progress on offshore wind under Christie. Murphy spoke during a Jan. 31 briefing Livestreamed via YouTube. The briefing took place in Atlantic City, N.J., whose coastline has been the site of proposed offshore wind projects.
"We cannot allow for stagnation in this growing sector of our energy economy and we cannot lose sight of the tremendous opportunity for offshore wind at the Jersey Shore. With this executive order, we begin the process of making New Jersey a leader in offshore wind, a critical step toward achieving our clean energy goals," Murphy said in a news release.
The order also directs the BPU and state Department of Environmental Protection to establish an offshore wind strategic plan for the state. Furthermore, the BPU was directed to collaborate regionally with neighboring states on offshore wind.
The offshore wind law requires the state to start an OREC program as a way to stimulate development of at least 1,100 MW of offshore wind. Qualified offshore wind projects can earn incentives in the form of credits that electric suppliers can buy and turn in to comply with the state's broader renewable portfolio standard. New Jersey's renewables standard requires the state to have about 24.4% of its overall electric sales come from qualified renewables by 2028. The state already has incentives for new land-based wind projects in the form of Class I RECs, but the OREC program has been slower to develop.
A proposed 25-MW demonstration project from developer Fishermen's Energy of New Jersey LLC faced challenges after multiple attempts to get approved by BPU. The BPU in 2016 denied the project because of the estimated costs of the ORECs, and Christie vetoed legislation that would let the project get reconsidered.
The executive order directs the BPU to implement the OREC program by approving financial plans submitted by offshore wind developers, then issue a solicitation 1,100 MW of offshore wind-generated electricity. Before the briefing, Murphy on Jan. 31 participated in a roundtable with wind developers, and said they were supportive of the solicitation approach.
During the briefing, Murphy lamented the fact that New Jersey "fell behind" other northeast states like Maryland on offshore wind policies and development. New Jersey has 9 MW of wind installed on land through the fourth quarter of 2017, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
Other East Coast states have set offshore wind targets. Massachusetts in 2016 set a clean energy mandate that includes contracting for 1,600 MW of offshore wind by July 2027. Two days before the New Jersey announcement, New York released a plan to have 2,400 MW of offshore wind supply by 2030.
New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney joined Murphy at the briefing and said he signed the offshore wind law in part for the potential growth of a manufacturing sector to support offshore wind development.
State Sen. Bob Smith, who was not at the briefing, said in an interview the signing of the executive order is a good thing because it gives the BPU the signal to "get off your tuchus and get something done." Smith said he will meet later in February with BPU President Joseph Fiordaliso to understand how the agency is "going to be moving" on offshore wind.
