 |
 |
|
|
||
|
ACUA Wind Farm Construction to Start in February
Dec 15th 2004
The Press of Atlantic City
By David Benson, Staff Writer
(reprinted in Jersey Coast Anglers Association February 2005 Newsletter)
While offshore windmill farms face a state-mandated moratorium, construction will begin in late February on the state's first - and only - onshore commercial wind farm, which could start generating power as early as August, an industry official said Tuesday.
Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey said last week that he wants to stop construction of offshore wind farms until the state has time to study the effects the structures could have on tourism and marine life.
One environmental spokesman said he is concerned that, if enacted, the moratorium could become permanent. Onshore wind farms have not been addressed by the governor.
The state Department of Environmental Protection approved the environmental permit for the Atlantic City Wind Farm in September 2003, said Elaine Makatura, a spokeswoman for the department. "This project is approved," she said Tuesday.
Community Energy Inc. is slated to build the wind farm at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority's sewage-treatment plant on Route 30 in Atlantic City. The ACUA will use the wind farm to generate about half its yearly energy needs for wastewater treatment, said Paul Gallagher, a spokesman for the authority.
The plan for the wind farm was put on hold in November 2003 after the New Jersey Audubon Society filed an appeal of the permit. The society said then that not enough research had been done on the effects of wind turbines on migratory birds. The coast of New Jersey lies in the Atlantic Flyway, where many migratory species travel.
On Tuesday, however, representatives from the Audubon Society, Community Energy and the Atlantic County Utilities Authority announced that an agreement was reached that allows the construction of the five wind turbines that have been approved.
Ted Korth, a spokesman for Audubon, said the society never directly opposed the wind farm. "We realized in 2003 that the state didn't have rigorous permitting for wind farms," he said.
Korth said the society believes the state should pursue an environmentally responsible implementation of wind power.
But in November 2003, the society wanted the state - or Community Energy - to research the effects the turbines could have on migratory birds."But Community Energy and Audubon learned that rather than wait for the DEP to do the study, we (Audubon) could work with the industry to move the project forward," Korth said. "The environmental community was willing to work with the DEP, but the DEP did not reciprocate."
Makatura said her agency was waiting for the lawsuit to be settled between Community Energy and Audubon. "I believe Audubon filed the lawsuit," she said. "I don't believe the DEP was part of the lawsuit." Makatura said that with the settlement of issues between the energy company and Audubon, the project can move forward. She would not speculate as to whether the pending moratorium on offshore wind farms would apply to future onshore projects.
"We will have to see what the executive order is when the governor signs and publicizes it," she said. "The governor is committed to an open public process, once he issues his executive order to solicit input to make decisions."
Korth expressed worries about the pending moratorium on wind farms, and the effect it could have on wind power in the state. "A moratorium without a defining policy from the state is an unending moratorium," he said. Discussions between Community Energy and the Audubon Society began about six months ago, said Eric Blank, a spokesman for Community Energy. The resulting agreement calls for a two-year radar-based evaluation of birds near the turbines, in addition to daily checks beneath the wind generators for dead birds. The radar study will cost about $320,000. Community Energy will pick up about a third of the tab.
Korth said the energy company and the Audubon Society would work together to raise the remaining $220,000, hinting that state or federal funding could take care of a portion of the bill.
Brent Alderfer, a Community Energy spokesman, said that between five and 10 birds could be killed each year by the wind farm. "From the industry perspective, it's about one to two birds per year per turbine," he said.
Korth said he hopes the numbers are on par or below industry expectations. "The difference is the Atlantic Flyway," he said. "We have a large density of birds. A wind farm out in Minnesota doesn't have as many birds flying through it as one on the Atlantic Coast."
Gallagher, the ACUA spokesman, said the authority will see a significant savings on its energy bill when the turbines are brought online. "We spend about $2.5 million on the wastewater side of our budget on energy," Gallagher said.
Gallagher estimates the turbines will generate 50 to 70 percent of the authority's yearly energy needs. Over the next two decades, that could translate to lower - or at least more stable - sewer bills for Atlantic County residents because the cost of power generated by the turbines will be fixed for 20 years. "We got a fixed rate of 7.95 cents per kilowatt hour," Gallagher said. "And we don't have to pay a transmission fee." The authority now pays about 3 cents per kilowatt hour for energy to be sent through power lines to the treatment plant, Gallagher said. Because the wind farm will be built on-site, there will be no transmission fee.