Orsted to Build NJ's First OWF

Denmark’s Ørsted won New Jersey’s first offshore wind solicitation with a 1.1-gigawatt project Ocean Wind, the largest offshore wind project to secure a development deal with a U.S. state to date.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) announced in a press note that it has selected Ocean Wind, an offshore wind energy project proposed by Ørsted with support from Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), to negotiate a 20-year offshore wind renewable energy credit (OREC) for an offshore wind farm with a capacity of 1,100MW.

Located off the coast of Atlantic City, Ocean Wind will be New Jersey’s first large-scale offshore wind farm. Subject to Ørsted’s final investment decision, the wind farm is expected to be completed by 2024.

Ørsted will work with Public Service Enterprise Group’s (PSEG) 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 and has a long development partnership with Ørsted, has an option to become an equity investor in the Ocean Wind project.

Ocean Wind will supply more than half a million New Jersey homes with clean power. The project is expected to create over 3,000 direct jobs annually through development and the three-year construction cycle. Ørsted is also proceeding with plans to establish an operations and maintenance (O&M) base in Atlantic City that will provide permanent, high-skilled jobs during the 25+ years lifespan of the sproject.

Martin Neubert, Executive Vice President and CEO of Ørsted Offshore, said: “We’re delighted that New Jersey has chosen Ørsted to build the State’s first large-scale offshore wind farm. Since Ørsted developed the world’s first offshore wind farm in 1991, we have pushed the industry forward to help turn offshore wind into a large-scale and cost-competitive source of clean energy."

"We look forward to delivering Ocean Wind which will be the first offshore wind farm in the US to cross the 1GW mark and will contribute significantly to meeting Governor Murphy’s ambitious renewable energy goals,” he added.

Thomas Brostrøm, CEO of Ørsted US Offshore Wind and President of Ørsted North America, said: “Today’s announcement firmly establishes a fast-growing global industry in New Jersey, which will create jobs and supply chain in the state. Ocean Wind will ensure that the state and its residents not only benefit from clean, renewable power, but that they reap the rewards of being an early mover at scale in the offshore wind industry as it grows in the US.”

With today’s announcement, Ørsted has secured a US offshore wind build-out portfolio with a total capacity of approx. 2GW to be completed between 2022 to 2024.