New Jersey opens third offshore wind solicitation

By: Kaitlin Walsh

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07/03/2023 State of New Jersey Board of Public Utilities


The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) voted on 6 March 2023 to open the application window for the state's third solicitation for offshore wind capacity. The third solicitation seeks to award between 1.2 GW and 4 GW of offshore wind capacity, building on the previously awarded 3.75 GW. This is a significant step towards achieving Governor Phil Murphy's goal of 11 GW of offshore wind energy in New Jersey by 2040, which could power 3.2 million homes with renewable energy.

Governor Phil Murphy commented: "Today marks a pivotal next step toward accomplishment of our offshore wind development goals. Offshore wind constitutes a crucial component of our journey to 100% clean energy by 2035, a benchmark that solidifies our position at the national forefront of climate action. In addition to safeguarding our communities from the worsening impacts of climate change, this emerging industry will generate thousands of good-paying jobs and economic opportunity across the state.”

NJBPU President, Joseph L. Fiordaliso, stated: "New Jersey continues to back up our bold climate goals with concrete action as a leader in the clean energy transition. As we continue to take major, historic steps forward to meet Governor Murphy’s new goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2035, today’s actions will not only help us fight the ravages of climate change, but represent another investment in bolstering our local union workforce, ensuring our families and communities reap the benefits of our clean energy transition."

NJBPU will continue to coordinate with the applicable federal agencies with jurisdiction while developing the state's offshore wind resources. NJBPU will also work with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to ensure projects are responsibly developed and sited.

As part of the NJBPU’s second offshore wind energy solicitation, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind and Ocean Wind committed $10,000 per megawatt of project-size-awarded capacity – approximately $26.5 million – to fund regional research and monitoring to assess the impacts of offshore wind on New Jersey’s natural resources. The Research and Monitoring Initiative will identify, prioritise and fund projects in regional research and monitoring of marine and coastal resources before and during offshore wind development, construction, operation and maintenance, and decommissioning as recommended in the New Jersey Offshore Wind Strategic Plan. The board is recommending that any projects selected in the third solicitation contribute funding to this initiative.

In opening the third solicitation today, the board also issued a guidance document, which was developed through a public stakeholder process and provides the solicitation’s mechanics and timeline, project application requirements, and evaluation criteria. The application window opens on 6 March 2023 and closes on 23 June 2023. The Board anticipates making a decision on the submitted applications by the end of 2023.

In 2019, the NJBPU made an award from its first offshore wind solicitation to Ørsted’s 1.1 GW Ocean Wind project, the largest single-project award in the country at that time. In 2021, the Board made its second and third awards to Ocean Wind II for 1.1 GW of offshore wind capacity and Atlantic Shores for 1.5 GW of offshore wind capacity. To date, the Board has awarded 3.75 GW of offshore wind capacity.  The three projects will inject $4.7 billion into New Jersey’s economy and create over 10,000 jobs - over 70,000 FTE job-years.

For more information on offshore wind farms worldwide, click here.

About the Author

4C Offshore | Kaitlin Walsh
Kaitlin Walsh

01502 307037 kaitlin.walsh@4coffshore.net
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