For Release: August 18, 2014

On Eve of 4-Year Anniversary of the Signing of Off-Shore Wind

Bill, Appellate Division Hands Fishermans Energy a Huge Hand
with BPU Court Challenge
Still no progress on a state off-shore wind program except for the efforts of
Cape May Co. based wind company to build pilot AC project

Trenton On the eve of the 4-year anniversary of Gov. Christie signing into law legislation to fast track
off-shore wind in New Jersey, the most viable off-shore wind project in the state Fishermens Energy
got a big boost from Appellate Division judges who are fast-tracking the case and forcing the Board of
Public Utility to reconsider the project by accepting Fishermens Energy appeal of the Board of Public
Utilitys denial of the pilot project earlier this year.
The Fishermens Energy was recently granted a $47 million highly competitive Department of Energy
grant for the project, despite the state roadblocks, which was executed with the federal government earlier
this month at a grant signing at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City. On the heels of this grant, the Appellate
Division will force the BPU to use a more accurate price per MwH of energy of $199/MwH which would
create a net economic benefit of $33 million. The BPU now has 120 days to hear the appeal.
The Shore is in the cross-hairs of climate change, and off-shore wind is our best bet to jumpstart a clean
energy economy, said Doug OMalley, director of Environment New Jersey. Todays news is
another sign of strength for the Fishermens Energy project & off-shore wind and a shot across the bow
for the capricious nature the BPU has treated off-shore wind.
The project is especially timely because of the Christie Administrations delay at launching the off-shore
wind program has allowed other states like Maryland and Massachusetts to leapfrog ahead, and the
Department of Energy in July announced the formal leasing of off-shore sites off the Jersey Shore --- an
area estimated at more than 344,000 acres with the potential to generate more than 3,400 megawatts of
clean, renewable energy (on par with the power production of 7 fossil fuel power plants.
Four years after the signing of this landmark legislation, weve made no progress in the implementation
of offshore wind in New Jersey, said Sen. Jim Whelan. The Board of Public Utilities needs to stop
sitting on its hands and implement the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act so we can be the
nations leader in wind energy.
New Jersey has seen the effects of climate change and will continue to see changes in sea level rise and
increased storm surges for decades to come. Heavy precipitation events in the Northeast have increased
dramatically in the past two decades, occurring more than twice as often in recent years than during the
past century. The latest Rutgers climate research predicts that by 2050, New Jerseys coast will have
already experienced a 1.5-foot sea level rise. As a result, the damages felt by floods will nearly
double. Between 2007 and 2012, Atlantic County experienced the most federally declared extreme
weather disasters 9 than any other county in NJ.
Four years ago when the Governor signed the Off Shore Wind Economic Development Act, New Jersey
had the potential to be a national leader in the wind power industry. Four years later projects like
Fishermans Energy in Atlantic City continue to get caught up in governmental red tape. Now is the time
to make alternative energy sources like wind a real priority in New Jersey for the taxpayers, for our
economy and for our families, said Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo (D-Atlantic).
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Climate Change & Extreme Weather Background:
Every weather event is now a product of a climate system where global warming loads the dice for
extreme weather, though in different ways for different types of extreme weather. The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change recently concluded that it is virtually certain that hot days will become hotter
and likely that extreme precipitation events will continue to increase worldwide.
Mondays turn of events comes on the heels of near-record rainstorms across South Jersey last week that
dropped nearly nine inches of rain in Millville and created floodwaters reaching five feet deep in
Millville, forcing residents to be evacuated by boats and flooding basements across the region.
In the New York City metro area early last Wednesday, more than a foot of rain fell in just a few hours,
causing extensive flooding on Long Island. In Islip, New York had received 13 inches of rain, which set a
preliminary state record for the heaviest 24-hour rainfall total in state history. This broke the previous
record of 11.6 inches, set at Tannserville, New York in August of 2011 during Hurricane Irene. The pace
of the rain was extreme, as Islip picked up 5 inches of rain between 5 and 6 a.m. , and another 4 inches in
the following hour. In Baltimore, rain storms there dropped 6 inches of rain on the Baltimore-Washington
International Airport.
Since the late 1950s, the heaviest rainfall events have become more common and more intense in much of
the U.S., with the highest increase 71% occurring in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Scientists
have attributed this in part to manmade global warming, since the atmosphere can hold more moisture at
higher temperatures, and more evaporation is also taking place.
This means that storms, from localized thunderstorms to massive hurricanes, have more energy to work
with, and are able to wring out greater amounts of rain or snow in heavy bursts. In general, more
precipitation is now coming in shorter, heavier bursts compared to a few decades ago, and this is putting
strain on urban infrastructure such as sewer systems that are unable to handle such sudden influxes of
water.
The Obama administration has proposed a $1 billion climate resilience fund aimed at helping
communities adapt to climate change impacts that are already occurring, including heavy precipitation
events. Studies, including the National Climate Assessment that was released in May, have found that the
1.6 degrees Fahrenheit increase in global average surface temperatures to date has already increased the
odds of heavy precipitation events, heat waves, and coastal flooding in many areas.
Rutgers scientists and data managers announced a new climate change mapping website for New Jersey
this week. The site NJADAPT.ORG -- contains interactive maps that allow community planners to see
how infrastructure, population and the environment are vulnerable to storm surges, coastal flooding, and
sea level rise.The site contains the new interactive maps as well as an older online self-assessment tool for
towns and cities.
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