Win-Win for Offshore Wind – BPU Takes Two Historic Steps Forward

Today, the NJ Board of Public Utilities voted on Docket No. QO20100630 – In the Matter of Offshore Wind Transmission. Under the Board Order, the State of New Jersey would request that PJM incorporate the state’s offshore wind goal of 7,500 MW by 2035 through PJM’s state agreement approach. This would make NJ the first state in PJM to initiate a public procurement process to examine whether an integrated suite of transmission upgrades, both onshore and offshore, could best facilitate meeting the state’s offshore wind goals in a more efficient, cost-effective, or environmentally beneficial manner.

“Today was a win-win for offshore wind. Not only is New Jersey a national leader in offshore wind, but today we took two big steps forward. The first big step was that we increased our offshore wind program to 7,500MW by 2035. It was a goal before, but now it has been codified as policy. The BPU is also signing an agreement with PJM, making New Jersey the first state to do a feasibility study with them and come up with a coordinated effort to bring power onshore. The first 3,500 MW of wind will have their own lines, but this will ensure that the second 4,000 MW of wind is brought onshore in the most cost-effective and environmentally sound way,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This will move offshore wind forward, which will help get to a green economy and create thousands of jobs. It will also help reduce greenhouse gases and stop new fossil fuel power plants.”

The Board Order will include looking for potential solutions for three interrelated components of an open access offshore wind transmission facility. The first option would upgrade the onshore PJM regional transmission system to accommodate the increased power flows from the offshore wind facilities. The second is onshore substations to offshore collector platforms. The third is an offshore transmission backbone that would connect different collector stations, serving various lease areas in an effort to network the various lease areas.

“The BPU and PJM study is looking at four offshore wind entry points to the mainland, including one in North Jersey. This is important because North Jersey has some of the worst air pollution in the nation. Bringing wind energy to the area could help close old, dirty power plants and block new ones from being built. This is also an area with the highest congestion and highest prices, so wind energy will not only help protect the environment but will also lower costs to consumers,” said Tittel. “The important part of doing the study is to figure out the best way to keep transmission systems from impacting critical habitats or fisheries. We also need to make sure that we can move power on land without cutting through environmentally-sensitive areas like the Pinelands.”

Under the Board Order, the BPU would direct PJM to plan for injections into four substations on the PJM system between 2028 and 2035. These include 900 MW at the Cardiff 230Kv Substation in Southern NJ, 1200 MW at the Larrabee 230 Kv Substation in Central Jersey, 1200 MW at the Smithburg 500Kv Substation in Central Jersey, and 3100 MW at the Deans 500Kv Substation in Northern NJ.

“Now that wind is becoming a reality off of our coast, we have to get it onshore. The BPU and PJM Study needs to be an open and transparent process, with proposals that are properly vetted. This study will help us determine the most environmentally sound and cost-effective way to make wind a reality while protecting ratepayers. Given the climate urgency, we need to keep moving forward with offshore wind and clean energy as quickly as possible. Increasing our offshore wind goal to 12.5 GW would mean that offshore wind would create over 150,000 jobs. More importantly, building our wind infrastructure will help prevent unnecessary dirty fossil fuel plants and pipelines from being built,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This will help New Jersey move forward with offshore wind. We need to move quickly because climate change is getting worse.”