BPU voting on
renewable sources
Sep 14, 2005 - The Record, Hackensack, N.J.
Author(s): Colleen Diskin
Sep. 14--A proposal to increase the amount of energy New Jersey gets
from the sun, the wind and other renewable sources during the next 15
years could take a step forward today.
The Board of Public Utilities plans a preliminary vote on the plan,
which comes at a time when the solar business is soaring in New Jersey,
although another potential clean-energy source -- wind power -- remains
a contentious issue that divides even environmental groups.
The new rule would require that 20 percent of the energy produced or
purchased come from renewable sources by 2020. Of that, at least 2
percent would have to come from solar sources in New Jersey.
The current overall standard is 4 percent renewable by 2008. It was
doubled two years ago, and proponents say the higher target, combined
with a BPU incentive program, has spurred a solar-industry boom.
"In the past two years, the state has essentially grown a solar
industry," said Scott Weiner, director of the Center for Energy,
Economic and Environmental Policy at Rutgers University, a research
group that was asked to analyze the feasibility of the new standard for
the BPU.
As of June, more than 500 new solar-electric systems had been
installed at homes, businesses and farms under the program, which has
doled out more than $21 million in grants. The grants pay for 70 percent
of the cost of installing panels on rooftops, and property owners can
further reduce their bills by selling excess power to their energy
suppliers.
Adopting a longer-range target, such as the 20 percent goal, would
fuel that growth and spur more interest in wind power and other
burgeoning technologies, Weiner said. These technologies include
hydrogen fuel cells, tapping methane from landfills and using ocean
waves to power turbines.
"It would be a signal that New Jersey is committed to a clean energy
future," Weiner said. "It would provide a great deal of comfort to
investors."
The report by the center predicted the new standard would have a
"negligible impact" on New Jersey's economy.
North Jersey's largest power supplier, Public Service Electric and
Gas Co., favors the goal of increasing renewable sources but thinks the
proposed target is too high, spokeswoman Karen Johnson said.
"Twenty percent may be a stretch in our view," Johnson said. "We
think there should be more study of where the power supply is going to
come from before we set the target."
But solar companies that have opened shop in New Jersey say the
higher goal could be the catalyst for the development of alternative
industries.
"This just increases everybody's confidence and makes it easier to
secure long-term financing," said Pamela Frank, director of sales and
marketing for Sun Farm Network of Flemington, a three-year-old company
that credits its existence to the BPU program.
The researchers from Rutgers did not attempt to estimate how much of
the 20 percent should be wind, solar or other sources, saying the
marketplace would determine the mix. They did recommend that New Jersey
give strong consideration to developing offshore wind farms, although
critics say the towering turbines needed for this would hurt tourism and
aquatic life.
Acting Governor Codey has put a moratorium on the development of
offshore wind farms, pending the release of a report from a blue- ribbon
commission that is due out in March.
If the board votes to advance the proposed rule, it would be
published in the New Jersey Register on Oct. 17 and be subject to a
60-day public review period.
Advocacy groups, such as New Jersey Public Interest Research Group,
are hoping the rule will be presented to Codey for his signature before
he leaves office, because they think he will support it. A spokesman for
the governor said he has taken no official position.
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