It’s clean, it’s beautiful, and it’s inexhaustible. It’s wind.

As of earlier this year, New Jersey has decided to join the growing worldwide community of countries and states that are inviting this ancient, yet high-tech method of powering our homes, businesses, and lives. Gov. Murphy announced in July that the Danish company Ørsted has been named to build the state’s first offshore wind farm, a project the state says will power half a million homes, bring 15,000 jobs to the state, and bring $1.2 billion in economic benefits ashore along with the wind power.

There is every reason to think that other companies and projects will follow, given 130 miles of coastline and the growing demand for green energy, amidst growing worry about climate change.  Best estimates are that we are looking at a multi-billion-dollar business here, and we want to help your company play a part in it. We’d like to lay out some of the considerations for ambitious energy companies that want to get ahead of the coming “Wind Rush.”

The technical details are presumably your specialty, but when it comes to regulation and litigation, that’s our well-farmed territory.  We have helped dozens of companies with the legal and regulatory elements on many other so-called linear projects—projects, like oil and gas pipelines, that bring energy to consumers and businesses. While the technology is different, the principles are the same.

The turbines would likely be built well out onto the continental shelf, which means that these projects implicate various federal, state and local regulatory and property interests. Our office has been navigating these interests for decades. Whether it’s environmental permitting, local land use issues, or even the land acquisition process, Rutter & Roy attorneys have been there. Again, while the offshore wind technology is new to New Jersey, the protocols, procedures, and obstacles are matters we’ve handled many times. Good counsel will get you through.

These may sound like waters too complex to navigate, but they can indeed be navigated; and it may take less time than you fear. Our team here at Rutter & Roy has had a hand in getting projects built that power our homes, schools and businesses. We look forward to helping the wind along, to do more of the same, on behalf of the State, its residents and businesses, and you, the businesses that will make it all possible.