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Testimony before the NJ Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Offshore Wind
April 14, 2005, Cape May Courthouse, 4 Moore Road, Cape May, NJ

Wind Power - 1976 and 2005 - More Questions Than Answers

Thank you for this opportunity today to share my observations regarding electricity generation technologies. I am a consultant with an academic background that includes utility economics and energy systems. I have provided consulting services to Public Service Enterprise Group at the Salem nuclear facility and at their corporate data center in Newark, NJ. I have also provided IT consulting services to Exelon / Amergen, to systems administrators of the Oyster Creek facility in an off-site location.

The first time I spoke before a body such as this was 1976, in Albany, NY, before a committee of the New York State Legislature on Energy, the Economy, and the Environment. The gist of my statement back then was “It is theoretically possible to power the New York City Subway System with wind driven turbines located in New York Harbor and off of Long Island.”

Albany and New York City are pretty far from here in space, and 1976 is pretty far from now in time. Gerry Ford was President and Oyster Creek had only been online for 7 years. Pres. Ford has long since completed his tenure in the Oval Office, as has his successor President Carter, and his successor, Pres. Reagan, and his successor, Pres. Bush, and his successor, Pres. Clinton. George W Bush, Pres Clinton’s successor, is in his 5th year in office. Oyster Creek is still on-line today, some 29 years later, 35 years after it was brought “on-line.”

I would say almost the same thing today that I said back in 1976 regarding driving the New York City Subways with offshore wind. I would, however, change the phrase “It is theoretically possible,” and say, “We know we can in a cost effective manner power the New York City Subway System using offshore wind.” It doesn’t help us here in New Jersey, but it would be pretty cool.

As I understand it, your charter is to consider the needs, costs, and benefits of offshore turbines and compare them with other sources of electric power. It looks like you have your work cut out for you. New Jersey has a population estimated at about 8.6 million people, in 3.4 million households. And the population is growing every day. We need about 7 gigawatts of power today, and we will need more tomorrow. About half of the power we use today comes from nuclear power plants. Approx. 9% comes from Oyster Creek. But Oyster Creek is old, and a lot of people want to shut it down. If we shut it down, what are we going to do? Are we going to tell 700,000 people they can’t use their TVs, refrigerators and hair dryers?

The fossil fuels, coal, oil, and natural gas, create greenhouse gases. Coal also causes smog, acid rain, and mercury pollution. Getting it out of the ground results in strip-mines or gives coal miners black lung disease. Using more oil of course increases our dependence on foreign oil.

What about photovoltaics? You see them on rooftops here and there. How do they work? Do they really turn light into energy? What happens when they are covered with snow? Are they cost-effective? My auto mechanic has them. His electric bill was $2.11 last month. He doesn’t know what it’ll be like in the summer. He’ll need air conditioning, but there’ll be more sunlight. Still I don’t know if it would it be practical to put them on every roof. Or on 300,000 rooftops so we could shut down Oyster Creek. Would you want them on your roof? Would I want them on mine? Would my wife?

What about offshore wind? It seems to work in Ireland and Denmark. GE builds those turbines. GE is doing well. Pays stockholders a nice dividend. Has a low Price Earnings ratio. They show off the wind turbines in their ads in “Business Week.” If wind power works in Ireland, Denmark, and Canada would it work here? If it’s good for GE is it good for New Jersey?

GE used to build nuclear plants - GE built Oyster Creek. Are they building nuclear power plants today? Where?

How much time does it take to build a wind farm? How long will they last? Do they really work? What do they really cost?

According to the proponents, Wind Power provides clean energy -

No Pollution,
No Radioactive Waste,
No Greenhouse Gases,
No Acid Rain.
No Fuel and No Fuel Costs.
No Special security concerns - Safe from Terrorists.

Simple, Elegant. Without the need for complex and redundant safety systems.

Just clean energy.

Sounds too good to be true, and when something sounds too good to be true … there must be a catch. So what’s the catch?

I know - It spoils the view.

But really - what’s the catch?