On Friday, Ørsted, working in conjunction with Public Service Enterprise Group, submitted a bid to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to build its Ocean Wind project, an offshore wind project that will sit 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City.
Should Ocean Wind receive approval from the BPU, Ørsted will work with PSEG’s non-utility affiliates, which would provide energy management services and potential lease of land for use in project development.
It is unclear if any other bids were submitted. The timeline for an approval or rejection of the bid also is unclear.
Calls to BPU officials were not immediately returned.
Thomas Brostrom, CEO of Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind and president of Ørsted North America, celebrated the proposal, saying it would help the state meet many of its energy needs and goals.
“Today is an important milestone in the state’s desire to build out its renewable energy portfolio,” Brostrom said in a release.
“As the global leader in the development of offshore wind, we are confident in our ability to deliver a comprehensive, competitive project that will help Gov. (Phil) Murphy achieve his goal of 3,500 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030, while boosting the economy and creating jobs.”
PSEG Chairman, CEO and President Ralph Izzo shared Brostrom’s enthusiasm.
“We are pleased to continue supporting Gov. Murphy’s clean energy agenda,” Izzo said. “New Jersey is fortunate to have excellent offshore wind resources.
“If approved, Ocean Wind would provide substantial environmental benefits, as well as generate significant economic activity in the state.”
The companies said the project would do the following:
- Deliver on Gov. Phil Murphy’s goal of a sustainable offshore wind supply chain with the first permanent offshore wind manufacturing jobs in America, in addition to the creation of up to 1,000 annual construction jobs within the state, providing significant opportunities for high-quality, skilled labor jobs from the South Jersey building and construction trades.
- Make significant investments in New Jersey’s offshore wind fabrication, construction and maintenance infrastructure — all of which will create long-term job potential and reduce the cost of future offshore wind farms in the region.
- Provide more than half a million New Jersey homes with clean, reliable and stable-priced power.
- Deliver a credible timeline, as it’s the most mature project based on years of significant site investigation, permitting and interconnection work. This allows Ørsted to deliver on the economic, environmental and energy system benefits years before others can.
- Establish the “Ocean Wind Pro-NJ” Grantor Trust (or Pro-NJ Trust), which will support minority business enterprises, women business enterprises and/or small businesses entering the offshore wind industry. The fund also will support investments in infrastructure resiliency projects throughout South Jersey.
Ørsted, a global leader in offshore wind energy, has been developing and constructing offshore wind farms since it launched the world’s first offshore wind farm in 1991.
Ørsted owns and operates the Block Island Wind Farm, the country’s first offshore wind farm, and has a comprehensive geographic coverage with the largest development capacity, totaling more than 8 gigawatts in seven states.
