Wind turbine
MAHWAH – New economic analysis from Whitestrand Consulting reveals New Jersey electricity rates will rise significantly if Atlantic Shores 1 Offshore Wind is awarded a Re-Bid Project contract in New Jersey’s Fourth Solicitation for Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificates (ORECs). The report, found here, also details several deficiencies in the state’s offshore wind solicitation processes along with the ratepayer impacts.
“Our analysis indicates that a new contract for Atlantic Shores 1 will burden NJ ratepayers with significantly higher above-market power prices,” Whitestrand founder Ed O’Donnell said in a release issued March 29. “If awarded, ratepayers will be required to pay almost 20 cents/kwhr for power from Atlantic Shores 1, compared with 6 cents/kwhr available to utilities on the wholesale power market.”
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities March 6 announced the fourth solicitation seeking bids for 1,200-4,000 megawatts of offshore wind generated electricity. The fourth solicitation allows companies awarded ORECs in the First or Second Solicitation to re-bid existing contracts and replace in total if such Re-Bid Project is awarded. Atlantic Shores 1 was awarded ORECs for 1510 MW of electrical generating capacity in NJBPU’s Second Solicitation in June 2021.
“The cumulative impact of a potential new Atlantic Shores 1 award in combination with other approved projects will increase rates by more than 20% for all customer classes,” said O’Donnell.
The new report also shows that any re-bid Atlantic Shores 1 award would once again fail to meet cost-benefit thresholds or fairly balance the risk and rewards between ratepayers and shareholders as required in NJ’s Offshore Wind Economic Development Act (OWEDA). This is consistent with prior Whitestrand analyses showing the current Atlantic Shores 1 and recent NJBPU Third Solicitation OREC contracts awarded to Attentive Energy and Leading Light fail similar tests.
“Any Atlantic Shores re-bid award by the NJBPU will exacerbate these legal deficiencies while the above market power prices and subsidies will disproportionately impact lower income residents and communities,” added O’Donnell.
Keith Moore, government affairs director of Defend Brigantine Beach added, “despite NJBPU’s demonstrated incompetence for procuring offshore wind energy from foreign developers, here it stands again soliciting more offshore wind energy projects while also allowing those that failed first time around to re-bid. These solicitations and award of contracts are done in secrecy, ignoring public comment, until they issue a final order. Even then their basis for their decision is hidden from public view with most of the critical information redacted from the public record. In addition, the cumulative effects of the Governor’s complete 11,000 MW New Jersey wind energy programs, if completed, could raise consumer energy prices by 50% or more.
Whitestrand Consulting is engaged in studies of the economics of energy production facilities, providing services to stakeholders who may be affected by such projects. The full report “Economic Analysis of a Potential Re-Bid of the Atlantic Shores One Offshore Wind Project” can be found here:
https://save-the-east-coast.org/economic-analysis-of-a-potential-re-bid-atlantic-shores/
For more, contact Ed O’Donnell at 201-788-1722 or ed.odonnell@whitestrandllc.com.
