New Jersey offshore wind gets back on track

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy: “Third Solicitation awards are undeniable proof that the future of offshore wind in New Jersey is as strong as ever,”

Back in October last year, New Jersey’s plans for offshore wind development took a hit when Ørsted announced that it would cease development of the Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 projects. Ocean Wind 1 had been set to become New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm. Yesterday, though, New Jersey offshore wind aims got back on track.

in its third offshore wind solicitation, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) awarded contracts to two projects to that will deliver 3.7 GW of offshore wind generation: EnergyRE and Invenergy’s 2,400 MW Leading Light project and the Corio Generation, TotalEnergies and Rise Light and Power 1,342 MW Attentive Energy 2 project.

NJBPU says that, combined, the projects will bring $6.8 billion in economic benefits to New Jersey and provide enough domestically produced energy to power 1.8 million homes.

“Today’s Third Solicitation awards are undeniable proof that the future of offshore wind in New Jersey is as strong as ever,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. “From our talented workforce to our growing standing as a regional supply chain hub, our state remains an unparalleled location for the top developers in the world to plant their flags. In addition to bringing good-paying jobs and environmental benefits to the Garden State, these projects will significantly advance our pursuit of a 100% clean energy economy by 2035.”

With these awards, New Jersey now has more than 5.2 GW contracted, marking substantial progress toward its 11 GW by 2040 goal.

OVER THE CURVATURE OF THE EARTH

New Jersey TV station 6ABC notes that both the projects chosen by NJBPU would be considerably farther offshore than earlier projects that generated significant opposition from onshore communities, one of whose concerns was that the turbines would be visible on the horizon from the beach.

6ABC quotes Damian Bednarz, managing director of Attentive Energy, as saying “we are over the curvature of the Earth,” with the project being built 42 miles (67 kilometers) off Seaside Heights and not visible from the shoreline.

NJ “REASSERTS ITS LEADERSHIP”

The Oceantic Network (formerly the Business Network for Offshore Wind) says that, along with these projects and Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, which is currently under development, the state has already made huge strides in developing its offshore wind supply chain.

Yesterday’s winning projects committed to use of the New Jersey Wind Port for marshalling activities, supporting the expansion of EEW’s monopile facility in Paulsboro and procuring foundations from it, purchase of towers from an undetermined New Jersey-based tower manufacturer, and location of secondary tower and transition piece manufacturing at the Wind Port. Both projects also committed to funding local supply chain outreach programs and developing a new operations and maintenance port in northern New Jersey.

“New Jersey reasserts its leadership in the U.S. offshore wind sector with today’s 3.7 GW commitment and securing new supply chain investments in towers, foundations, and secondary steel manufacturing,” said Liz Burdock, founder and CEO of Oceantic Network. “The U.S. offshore wind market is entering a new phase of development; today’s action capitalizes the state’s early investments in a coordinated transmission system, the New Jersey Wind Port, and the EEW monopile facility to accelerate development and position the state at the center of the nation’s supply chain. The Network congratulates Governor Murphy and NJBPU on a bold and successful procurement process and thanks them for their continued work to advance offshore wind in New Jersey and across the East Coast. We look forward to seeing member companies Corio Generation, EnergyRE, Invenergy, Rise Light and Power, and TotalEnergies develop these projects.”