Change in the wind at Steel Pier?

What do you add to an oceanfront attraction that already boasts a Ferris wheel, go-karts, a double-decker carousel, and something called the Crazy Mouse Coaster?

How about modern-day windmills?

The owners of Atlantic City's Steel Pier are working to add up to 10 wind turbines to their amusement site, saying they could have the first pier in the country to host wind power.

"This will be a whole new facet," said Anthony Catanoso, the Steel Pier's president and part-owner.

Sleek turbines - spinning across from the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort on the 150,000-square-foot amusement site, which stretches 1,000 feet into the Atlantic - would offer a new attraction as well as cut the pier's energy bill, he said.

The plans coincide with state and federal decisions that have increased the prospect of turbines off Atlantic City's coast, which could bring the city of roulette and blackjack a rush of wind power. Installation may be a few years away, but the turbines could still be some of the first off the U.S. shore.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has eyed an area off Atlantic City for a pilot project that could allow up to five wind turbines in state waters. In addition, the federal government gave a go-ahead last year for private research towers that could be a precursor to hundreds of wind turbines in federal waters.

The United States has no offshore wind generation, though several states, including New Jersey, are jockeying for the first.

Turbines and the shoreline are a volatile mix. Proponents focus on strong coastal gusts and the potential for clean energy. But some homeowners and beach lovers worry that the tall towers and turning arms could defile the seascape, and some environmentalists worry about the blades' impact on birds and bats.

Many of the concerns are moot around Atlantic City, where the shoreline is already built up with tall, shiny buildings.

"The disruption to the residential community is nonexistent," said State Sen. Jim Whelan (D., Atlantic), a former Atlantic City mayor who is sponsoring a bill that would let the Steel Pier project advance.

The Senate approved the measure Monday, sending it to the Assembly.

Far from an eyesore, Whelan said, the turbines already installed in Atlantic City - near highways, not beaches - have turned into attractions. Tour groups stop there, and nearby hotels have received requests for rooms overlooking the wind farm, he said.

"We think they'd be even that much more popular putting them on the Boardwalk," Whelan said.

Catanoso envisions the turbines as an added attraction to the Steel Pier, which opened in 1898 and, after damage from neglect and fire, relaunched in 1993, according to its Web site. He also plans an educational center showing how wind power works.

"Not only will it be good as far as green power goes, it will be good attractionally and will be educational," Catanoso said.

He said the Steel Pier could be the first in the country with wind turbines. Jen Banks, a specialist on offshore wind and siting with the American Wind Energy Association, said she did not know of any similar project in the country.

Banks said offshore sites offered stronger and steadier winds: "more bang for your buck."

In June, the federal government gave four companies permits to set up five research sites in waters off New Jersey and Delaware. Up to 190 turbines could be built at two locations off Atlantic City, with more turbines possible off nearby Avalon, according to a report from the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services.

On land, the Atlantic City Utility Authority's wind turbines are the only ones of significant size in the state, according to Jeanne Herb, the DEP's director of policy planning and science.

But the DEP has tried to make it simpler to develop wind power and has laid out plans for allowing up to five turbines in state waters off Atlantic City, Herb said.

A proposed regulation would "streamline" the permitting process for turbines, particularly smaller ones. That same proposal also allows for a pilot wind project in state waters off Atlantic City. The turbines would go up at least 21/2 miles from the shore but within the state's three-mile jurisdiction.

Those plans are in limbo, though, because of Gov. Christie's executive order halting new regulations. As his first official act, Christie suspended more than 150 pending regulations, including one on wind turbines.

He froze the rules with the intention of eliminating those that may hamper economic development. They are under review to determine which should be scrapped.

The freeze put a hold on the Steel Pier's plans, a snag Whelan hopes to undo with legislation.

Catanoso said he planned to build enough turbines to generate a megawatt of power and make the pier "carbon neutral." The energy generated couldn't power his rides directly, but he hopes he can sell the local utility an amount equal to what his site uses, cutting his bill.

According to Banks, one megawatt is enough to power roughly 275 homes.

Whelan has argued that adding turbines on the pier would advance the state's goals of tripling its wind-power use by 2020. He hopes it could lead to similar projects elsewhere.

"We would hope that we could pass this as sort of a pilot program," he said.