FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What does it mean to buy New Jersey Wind?
New Jersey Wind is a renewable electricity certificate product delivered to the regional electric grid on your behalf by the Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm in Atlantic County, NJ. Clean energy is more expensive to produce than conventional methods of electricity generation like coal combustion or nuclear power. The price charged for this product makes up the difference between the cost of dirtier, conventional electricity generation and the higher cost of clean wind energy.

What are the advantages of buying clean energy, such as New Jersey Wind?
There are many environmental, public health, and economic benefits to purchasing clean energy.

1. Clean energy is completely pollution-free and creates electricity with no combustion, no smoke, and no waste.
   
2. Poor air quality, regional haze, smog, acid rain, nuclear waste disposal, and global warming are the well-documented side effects of traditional fossil fuel and nuclear power plants. Health risks attributed to fossil fuel power plants include respiratory and pulmonary problems. Coal-fired power plants contribute to ground-level ozone or smog, and generate fine particulates that can be linked to premature deaths from heart and lung disease, including cancer.
   
3. Building and maintaining wind farms creates jobs and revenue for landowners and local communities.
   
4. Wind power is produced locally and is leading the way to US energy independence by reducing our need for imported oil and contributing to economic development in New Jersey.

Why should I pay extra?
Wind energy costs more to produce than conventional energy. Improving turbine technology and a developing market continue to drive the price down. We're fortunate enough to live in an area where wind power is a local, available and affordable alternative.

How does clean energy get to my home or business?
Imagine the electric grid is a giant bathtub filled with electricity from many different faucets. Each faucet represents a different electricity source, for example, nuclear, fossil fuel, and wind. Every time you turn on a light switch, you drain a little electricity from the tub. Although buying renewable energy does not mean that electricity is being directed straight from the clean energy source to your home (it is impossible to specifically direct an electron), it does mean that more of the electricity being poured into the grid comes from emission-free sources rather than a dirtier generation source. The Jersey Atlantic Wind Farm is helping to increase the clean electricity that’s generated, or, pouring clean water into New Jersey’s tub.

Can I purchase New Jersey Wind through my current electric company?
Beginning October 2005, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilies Office of Clean Energy, in partnership with the state’s electric utilities and clean energy marketers, is launching the voluntary New Jersey CleanPower Choice program. This program makes it easy for all New Jersey electric customers to buy clean energy on their monthly electric bill. JCP&L and PSE&G electric customers may buy New Jersey Wind through the New Jersey CleanPower Choice program right now. Atlantic City Electric and Rockland Electric Company electric customers will become eligible to participate in April 2006.

Can I switch from my electric company and buy New Jersey Wind?
No. New Jersey Wind is a premium service option that is in addition to the services and charges provided by your current electric company. By purchasing New Jersey Wind, you are not "switching" away from your current electric utility regarding your service.

Whom do I call if the power goes out?
Nothing changes...you still call your electric power company. They continue to provide emergency service, power line maintenance, and repair (the cost for that is and will continue to be part of your monthly bill).

Will my current electricity bill be affected by my New Jersey Wind purchase?
Yes, by signing up for this product, your electric bill will increase. All costs for participating in the New Jersey CleanPower Choice program are in addition to your regular electricity charges. The additional cost is the price difference for the higher cost of renewable energy.

Will there be a windmill in my backyard?
No, the Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm located in Atlantic County, NJ will generate the emission-free wind electricity delivered to the local electric grid. You can find information about the Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm by clicking here.

How is this different from just making a donation?
The premium required for New Jersey Wind represents a real cost differential between conventionally generated electricity and the higher cost of wind-generated electricity. The premium dollars go back to the wind farm to help it operate cost effectively. In all cases, the dollars are matched to specific supply and tracked by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. You are paying for real energy production.

The premium pays for a specified number of kWh of wind generation to be added to the grid supply.

Do wind farms have a negative impact on birds?
No, not when wind farms are sited properly. Some of the early wind farms, specifically Altamont Pass in Northern California, have resulted in the death of raptors, such as hawks and eagles. In these areas, these birds of prey occasionally perch atop the wind turbines for a better view while hunting, and get caught in the spinning blades when the wind begins to blow.

Fortunately, studies are now conducted to ensure the safe siting of the wind farms and modern wind turbine designs are much more bird-friendly. For example, solid tubular towers are used to prevent birds from perching on them, while the turbine blades rotate much more slowly than earlier designs.

The bird deaths at the Altamont Pass site should however be considered in context. For every 10,000 birds killed by human activities, less than one is caused by a wind turbine. Automobiles are responsible for some 57 million bird deaths a year, more than 97 million birds die by flying into plate glass each year, and about 1.5 million birds die from collisions with structures (towers, stacks, bridges, and buildings) every year - according to the Audubon Society. However, any bird deaths from wind turbines are a problem both from a moral standpoint and from the legal standpoint of injuring or killing a protected bird such as a red-tailed hawk or golden eagle.

Click here for more information about Avian Collisions with Wind Turbines (Acrobat PDF file)