Photo: TOBIAS SCHWARZ / AFP / Getty Images
New Jersey State Senator Holly Schepisi has introduced a bill aimed at preventing utility customers from bearing the financial burdens associated with subsidies for future offshore wind projects. The bill, known as S-3078, proposes that the Board of Public Utilities should not collect or pre-collect any Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate surcharge from ratepayers for future offshore wind projects, regardless of the intended recipient of the subsidy.
"High inflation, rising interest rates, and ongoing supply chain issues continue to jeopardize the future of offshore wind. We need to ensure that offshore wind projects are environmentally safe and economically viable, so that we don't have to subsidize wind farm developers on the backs of New Jersey's utility customers," said Schepisi.
Currently, offshore wind projects can sell renewable energy certificates to electric power suppliers, which are funded through ratepayer surcharges. This bill aims to eliminate the financial burden on ratepayers by forbidding the BPU from imposing any form of payment or prepayment related to these surcharges or similar fees intended to cover the subsidy costs of these wind projects.