Clean energy is slowly catching on all over the country, as investment prices become more reasonable and as the energy produced begins to compete with traditional dirty energy sources.

Wind is one of those new “green energy” sources that has enormous potential. Already over 10% of the entire European continent is getting its energy from wind, and this number is projected to increase significantly over the next decade.

The United States has been slower to catch on due to oil and coal industries having such a stranglehold on national politics here, but progress is being made regardless.

New Jersey is one of the states leading the charge of clean energy. The writing is on the wall in terms of climate change, and New Jersey has decided the investments into clean energy are worth it.

Offshore Wind is an Answer

One of the bigger concerns regarding wind power going forward is where to actually place the wind turbines.

You can’t really just plop one of these massive windmill machines in the middle of a town.

Modern day wind turbines are typically built in groups, located in specific areas that maximize exposure to wind. These wind farms can be quite large, as well, which adds to the complexity of constructing them.

This is where offshore wind power comes in.

Offshore wind projects have been gaining momentum all over the world because there is massive amounts of available “space” in the ocean, and wind channels tend to be powerful there as well, as there is nothing to obstruct them.

This makes offshore wind a very efficient, not to mention lucrative proposition.

There are concerns however regarding the environment. Just how safe are offshore wind farms?

It’s possible that they disturb some habitats and may kill sea birds. Wind turbines in general kill hundreds of thousands of birds inadvertently every year, when birds fly into the actual turbine itself.

This number is actually comparatively lower than many other human-caused activities that cause bird deaths, but nonetheless, it does have a significant biological impact.

Overall, though, offshore wind farms tend to be much cleaner even than ones on land, and far cleaner than traditional energy sources like coal.

Danish Company Ørsted Backs Jersey Offshore Wind Project

In tandem with PSEG Power, a large offshore wind farm project has been given the green light off the coast of Atlantic City.

Atlantic City is already the home of much of Southern New Jersey’s power, in Atlantic City Electric. This wind farm, which is slated to come online around 2024, will compliment that perfectly.

The initial project is projected to supply power to over half a million New Jersey homes, and may be expanded.

This project is long overdue. The signs are all there that we should be investing into cleaner energy sources. The sooner that these projects get underway, the sooner we can start to see the changes around us.