The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is expected to vote next week on a $19 million plan to generate 350 megawatts of electricity with nearly 300 new wind turbines to be installed at various offshore locations.

One part of Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s Energy Master Plan for the state, the wind turbine plan could make New Jersey the first state in the U.S. to get energy from offshore wind (though that distinction could still go to Delaware, which OK’d a similar plan this summer), according to an article in NorthJersey.com. Once installed, the offshore turbines could provide enough energy for half the homes in North Jersey, the article stated.

The primary goal of New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan is to “reduce projected energy use by 20 percent by 2020 and meet 20 percent of the state’s electricity needs with Class 1 renewable energy sources by 2020,” according to the state’s Website.

Five companies are vying for the chance to build the offshore wind farms: Environmental Technologies LLC, Fishermen’s Energy of New Jersey LLC, Garden State Offshore Energy, Occidental Development and Equities LLC and Bluewater Wind.

Stay tuned here for an outcome of the utilities board decision. Meanwhile, to learn more about the proposed offshore installments, see the State of New Jersey’s Website for its Energy Master Plan, NorthJersey.com and New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program.