The New Jersey Economic Development Authority and Public Service Enterprise Group have signed a lease allowing for a term of up to 78 years on land that will be home to the New Jersey Wind Port at Lower Alloways Creek in Salem County.
The Wind Port, which officials feel will further position the state as a hub for clean energy and the U.S. offshore wind industry, will provide a location for essential staging, assembly and manufacturing activities related to offshore wind along the East Coast.
The Wind Port is located adjacent to PSEG’s nuclear generating site, which today provides more than 90% of New Jersey’s carbon-free electricity, and, together, offshore wind and nuclear energy will deliver powerful support for state and national clean energy ambitions, officials said.
“The New Jersey Wind Port is a transformational investment that will create hundreds of good jobs and drive billions of dollars of economic activity in South Jersey and throughout the state,” EDA CEO Tim Sullivan said.
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PSEG Chief Operating Officer Ralph LaRossa said the Wind Port will have big impact.
“The lease signing with the NJEDA is cause for celebration, as the New Jersey Wind Port will provide a foundation for even more carbon-free energy in our region,” he said. “Alongside PSEG’s nuclear plants, the New Jersey Wind Port will establish South Jersey as the heart of New Jersey’s clean energy economy.
“By supporting the development of renewable offshore wind power, this lease and the facility to come will establish New Jersey as the destination for clean energy development, operations, training, skills and innovation.”
The New Jersey Wind Port is located on an artificial island on the eastern shores of the Delaware River, southwest of the city of Salem.
With its expansive footprint, lack of height restrictions and easy access to the Atlantic Ocean’s wind farm lease areas, state and PSEG officials feel the Wind Port is one of a select few ports on the East Coast that can house offshore wind turbine marshalling and manufacturing.
A key component of offshore wind turbine marshalling is the vertical assembly of turbine towers, which are hundreds of feet tall and cannot fit beneath bridges, power lines and other naturally occurring barriers that would impose height restrictions. No other port in the region is able to support the marshalling and manufacturing operations that will take place at the Wind Port.
State officials feel the Wind Port has the potential to create more than 1,500 manufacturing, assembly and operations jobs, as well as hundreds of construction jobs — a huge benefit for the area, PSEG Nuclear President and Chief Nuclear Officer Eric Carr said.
“Salem County and South Jersey are already home to exceptional innovation, operations and a workforce skilled in generating clean energy for millions of customers,” he said. “And now, with the addition of the New Jersey Wind Port, PSEG is proud to support the state as we become the hub for development of carbon-free resources for the East Coast.
“PSEG and PSEG Nuclear welcome broad partnerships such as ours with the NJEDA and we look forward to continuing to drive innovation, growth and investment in the clean energy economy.”
