N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy signs measure giving Ørsted a tax break

Underscoring the job creation benefits of offshore wind, Gov. Murphy signed the legislation into law at a ceremony held at the EEW AOS plant in Paulsboro, N.J.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on July 6 signed a package of bills that included one which, according to his office, “will enable New Jersey’s first offshore wind project, Ocean Wind 1, to access federal tax credits and commit to supporting our state’s growing offshore wind supply chain.” That seems into an Ørsted tax break that illustrates that a lot of horse trading is involved in bringing offshore wind projects to fruition

Public broadcaster WHYY reports that the legislation allows Ocean Wind 1 developer Ørsted to keep federal tax credits that it otherwise would have been required to pass along to New Jersey utility ratepayers. The measure passed the New Jersey Senate by an extremely narrow margin and one of its Senate critics, Sen. Edward Durr, put its value at nearly $1 billion. That looks to be the only value anyone has put on the Ørsted tax break, but it makes for a good headline, so it’s gotten them.

The other measures appropriated $30 million to bolsters the state’s film and digital media tax credit program, and made changes to a program that aims to brings new residential and commercial developments to under-resourced communities by helping finance projects that would otherwise not be economically feasible for developers.

Underscoring the job creation benefits of offshore wind, Gov. Murphy signed the legislation into law at a ceremony held at the EEW AOS plant in Paulsboro. N.J., where EEW is building the first and largest facility for the production of monopiles for offshore wind turbines in the U.S. Full production capacity of 100 monopiles a year will be reached in the second development phase by 2024. At that point, EEW AOS will employ more than 500 highly skilled workers

”It is appropriate that Gov. Murphy chose to sign the tax credit bill at the EEW AOS plant in Paulsboro because investments like this ensure that offshore wind farms up and down the Atlantic Seaboard will be built with components manufactured by New Jersey workers and shipped out of New Jersey ports,” said former state Senate President Steve Sweeney, who chairs the advisory board for the Sweeney Center for Public Policy at Rowan University and sponsored the state’s first offshore wind tax credit law as Senate President in 2010. “Both the Administration and the Legislature worked hard over the past five years to put New Jersey in the forefront of offshore wind manufacturing, supply chains and development. This legislation preserves our edge in the increasing competition with New York, Maryland and other states for offshore wind jobs.”