February 2, 2005—New Jersey Audubon Society and Community Energy, Inc., recently reached an agreement for state-of-the-art avian studies to accompany the wind generation project proposed at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority property in Atlantic City, allowing construction to commence.
Under the agreement, Community Energy, the developer of the Atlantic City Wind Farm, will join with the Audubon Society to launch a detailed study using new radar technology to better predict how bird migration, particularly along the Atlantic Flyway, may be affected by wind turbine towers, which rise between 200 and 300 feet in the air.
While not specifically objecting to the Atlantic City Wind Farm—which is small by wind industry standards, with just five turbines—the New Jersey Audubon Society appealed issuance of a Coastal Area Facility Review Act permit (CAFRA permit) for the project contesting the standards applied by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in approving the project. The Agreement settles that appeal and allows the wind farm to be constructed.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has committed incentive funding to the Atlantic City Wind Farm—the first wind generation project in the state—and also expressed support for the settlement, which allows the project to move forward.
