Orsted
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Friday, June 21 selected Ocean Wind, an offshore wind energy project proposed by Ørsted with support from PSEG, to negotiate a 20-year offshore wind renewable energy credit for a 1,100 megawatt offshore wind farm 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City.
The state considered 14 proposals before selecting Orsted to receive subsidies.
Ocean Wind, New Jersey’s first large-scale offshore wind farm, is expected to start construction in 2020 and be completed by 2024. According to a release, it will supply 500,000 New Jersey homes with clean energy and create more than 3,000 direct jobs annually through development and construction. Ørsted is also proceeding with plans to establish an operations and maintenance base in Atlantic City that will provide permanent, high-skilled jobs during the 25+ years lifespan of the project.
“We’re delighted that New Jersey has chosen Ørsted to build the state’s first large-scale offshore wind farm,” Executive Vice President and CEO Martin Neubert said in the release. “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.”
Neubert said the project would be the first offshore wind farm in the U.S. to cross the 1 gigawatt mark and will contribute significantly to meeting NJ Gov. Phil` Murphy’s renewable energy goals of creating 3,500 megawatts of wind energy over the next 10 years.
“Today’s announcement firmly establishes a fast-growing global industry in New Jersey, which will create jobs and supply chain in the state,” said Thomas Brostrøm, CEO of Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind and president of Ørsted North America. “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.”
Ørsted will work with PSEG’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 and has a long development partnership with Ørsted, has an option to become an equity investor in the Ocean Wind project.
Ørsted owns and operates America’s first offshore wind farm, the 30 megawatt Block Island Wind Farm, the first commercial wind farm located in Rhode Island. In addition to the NJ project, it is planning operations in Delaware, Massachusetts and Virgina.
Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 6,200 people and its shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Orsted).
