NJ is One Step Closer to Having the Nation’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm

NEW JERSEY – Last week, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) granted New Jersey’s first award for offshore wind to the Danish offshore wind energy farm company Ørsted and Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), for the Ocean Wind 1,100 MW project.

The 1,100 MW project is expected to power around 500,000 New Jersey homes and generates $1.17 billion in “economic benefit,” while creating around 15,000 jobs over the life of the project. The wind farm will be built on federal land, which will be 15 miles away from the coast of Atlantic City.

This is the largest award for offshore wind in the country.

“Today’s historic announcement will revolutionize the offshore wind industry here in New Jersey and along the entire East Coast,” said Governor Murphy. “Building our offshore wind industry will create thousands of jobs, invite new investments into our state, and put us on a path to reaching our goal of 3,500 MW of offshore wind by 2030. This award is a monumental step in making New Jersey a global leader in offshore wind development and deployment.”

“Thanks to Governor Murphy’s leadership and his trust in the NJBPU to deliver upon the important promise of offshore wind, today we have taken another important step forward into our 100 percent clean energy future,” said NJBPU President Joseph L. Fiordaliso. “With today’s award of 1,100 MW of offshore wind, a safer, healthier future for New Jersey is looking brighter and closer than ever.”

The Ocean Wind project, which is backed by a memorandum of understanding with Ørsted and PSEG Renewable Generation, was chosen by the NJBPU because the economic development plan was the most detailed, the environmental protection plan was the “most complete and most advanced.” As well as Ørsted having the “best chance of successful development due to its depth of knowledge.”

Ørsted submitted the bid to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to build their Ocean Wind project in December of 2018.

The Danish company has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Rowan University and Stockton University.