By James J. Florio

A few months ago, Hurricane Sandy delivered a devastating blow and a nasty warning about the storms and flooding to come if climate change proceeds unchecked. If there is a silver lining, it is that New Jersey, which suffered more than any other state from the storm, is also positioned to benefit the most from the development of offshore wind energy, a technology that will help fight climate change.

In 2010, in a bipartisan vote, New Jersey passed the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act, part of an ambitious plan to make the Garden State the center of the U.S. offshore wind industry. However, 2½ years later, little progress has been made toward getting wind turbines up and spinning off our coast.

Delay is, and will continue to be, costly, and not just for the climate and our shorefront communities, but to our economy. A recent study concluded that New Jersey could see 20,000 jobs and $9 billion in new economic activity from the build-out of this industry and the transmission to serve it.

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But other states also are eager to become the industry hub, and experience with wind energy elsewhere shows that the states that act first reap the largest benefits. New Jersey must act now.

My friend, former Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, recently spoke at a New Jersey Alliance for Action forum on offshore wind energy and offshore transmission about how his state became the leader in wind energy jobs, in spite of its small size relative to wind giants such as California and Texas. Iowa supported the wind industry through its critical early years beginning in the 1980s, when it was still an expensive resource.

Right now, 43,000 Iowans have jobs in the wind sector. Six land-based wind manufacturing companies have located in that state, making turbines, towers and blades. And more than 200 small businesses, located in 26 of Iowa’s 99 counties, are now in the wind energy supply chain, generating more than $50 million in new revenue for them annually.

New Jersey could replicate Iowa’s success story with offshore wind. The wind energy area designated by the federal government for development off the Jersey coast is the largest area identified for any state, comprising more than 400 square miles of ocean, and it has attracted attention from 11 developers. New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan calls for developing 1,100 megawatts of offshore wind, and nearly 500 companies have been identified that could participate in construction and supply chain support.

We will also benefit from newly announced plans to build the New Jersey Energy Link, a proposed undersea backbone transmission project to be built in three phases to ultimately serve the state's goal of 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind. When completed, it will deliver New Jersey's offshore wind energy to the entire state.

This is a bold idea that creatively solves several problems beyond just getting offshore wind to shore. I like the innovation, use of the latest technology and having new transmission offshore, as opposed trying to increase transmission on land. This line will be a smart investment in the future of grid reliability and should be supported now.

With the Mid-Atlantic poised to be the wind industry’s next major growth area, New Jersey has a historic opportunity. We need this clean energy to supply our growing demand for electricity, meet our renewable energy targets, diversify our power sources and increase our energy security.

We also need the manufacturing and supply chain jobs that will open up if we take the leading role in developing projects. We have already waited too long.



James J. Florio is former governor of New Jersey and Founding Partner at the law firm of Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader LLC.

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