Fishermen's Energy has filed an appeal with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and wants the regulators to reconsider what the developer calls ‘a number of apparent misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the record.’
In March, the BPU issued an order rejecting the Fishermen's application for a 25 MW offshore wind demonstration project to be located off the coast of Atlantic City.
The BPU's approval would have allowed Fishermen's to use New Jersey's offshore renewable energy certificates (ORECs), but the regulators ruled that the project would cost ratepayers too much. However, Fishermen's claims the BPU staff mistakenly based the decision on a $263/MWh OREC price when the actual proposed price was $199.17/MWh.
Chris Wissemann, CEO of Fishermen's Energy, says this alleged misreading of the record "suggests that the board's decision is inappropriate."
Fishermen's was one of seven offshore wind developers to receive a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 2012, and despite the BPU ruling, the company says it is still competing for a $47 million follow-up grant.
Wissemann calls the BPU appeal "another step on the path toward an eventual approval of the project consistent with creating jobs and capturing other benefits."
