NJ Selects Ørsted for 1.1GW Ocean Wind Project

Ocean Wind map. Image courtesy of Ørsted

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has selected Ørsted to develop a 1.1-gigawatt offshore wind project located 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City. This marks the first of three solicitations the state is pursuing to acquire 3.5 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030.

Ocean Wind will be New Jersey’s first large-scale offshore wind farm. Ørsted will work with Public Service Enterprise Group’s non-utility affiliates, which will provide energy management services and potential lease of land for use in the project development and execution phase. PSEG, which serves 2.2 million electricity customers in New Jersey, has an option to become an equity investor in the Ocean Wind project.

Upon completion, the offshore wind farm is estimated to supply more than half a million New Jersey households with clean energy. During the development and the three-year construction phases, it is expected to create more than 3,000 direct jobs annually. In addition, Ørsted intends to establish an operations and maintenance (O&M) base in Atlantic City that will provide permanent, high-skilled jobs during the lifespan of the project estimated to go beyond 25 years. Subject to Ørsted’s final investment decision, the wind farm is expected to be completed by 2024.

The bigger picture

Ørsted has secured a U.S. offshore wind build-out portfolio with a total capacity of approximately 2 gigawatts to be completed between 2022 and 2024. The company will be able to optimize construction and operations across the portfolio as well as inside the clusters:

• Mid-Atlantic cluster—Ocean Wind (1,100MW) will deliver power to New Jersey, with expected commissioning by 2024; Skipjack (120MW) will deliver power to Maryland, with expected commissioning by 2022
• North-East cluster (owned 50-50 with Eversource)—Revolution Wind (704MW) will deliver power to Rhode Island (400MW) and Connecticut (304MW), with expected commissioning by 2023; South Fork (130MW) will deliver power to Long Island, New York, with expected commissioning by 2022

In addition to the four projects in its U.S. construction portfolio, Ørsted owns and operates the country’s first offshore wind farm, the 30-megawatt Block Island Wind Farm, and holds the following sites that can be developed for future offshore wind projects:

• Mid-Atlantic cluster—Ocean Wind: Approximately 1.4GW offshore wind site off the coast of New Jersey; Garden State Offshore Energy: An up to 1.2GW offshore wind site off the coasts of Delaware and New Jersey. This one is owned in a 50-50 joint venture with PSEG
• Northeast cluster (owned 50-50 with Eversource)—Bay State Wind: Approximately 2GW offshore wind site off the coast of Massachusetts; Two lease areas off the coast of New England which contain the potential for a combined 1.2GW