The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on Wednesday awarded a combined 3,742 megawatts of offshore wind capacity for projects to be built by two companies, the largest in the state’s history.
The BPU voted to award 2,400 MW to the Leading Light Wind project by lead developer Invenergy Wind LLC and co-developer energyRe, and 1,342 MW to the Attentive Energy 2 (AE2) project, by Attentive Energy LLC, a joint venture by TotalEnergies and Corio Generation.
Combined, the projects will bring $6.8 billion in economic and workforce benefits to New Jersey and provide enough domestically produced energy to power 1.8 million homes, the BPU said.
The state has set a clean energy goal of 11,000 megawatts of shore wind power by the year 2040. The two projects, located in federal waters some 40 miles off New Jersey’s coast, were submitted last year to BPU as part of the state’s third competitive offshore wind solicitation.
The latest news is significant for the state’s pursuit of offshore wind development after Ørsted, the winner of two prior bids to build 1,100-megawatt wind farms off the New Jersey coast, pulled the plug on its Ocean Wind 1 & 2 projects in late October, citing macroeconomic factors.
“The BPU has been committed to achieving Governor Murphy’s clean energy goals and in spite of some setbacks, we’re on track,” BPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy said prior to the unanimous vote at the board meeting.
“If anything, this solicitation award shows that we’re moving full steam ahead,” she said. “These two projects will cement New Jersey’s position as an offshore wind leader.”
Both projects have committed to supporting the establishment of a tower manufacturer at the New Jersey Wind Port in addition to sourcing monopiles from, and investing in, the expansion of the EEW monopile facility at the Port of Paulsboro. Together, the projects are estimated to create more than 27,000 direct, indirect, and induced full-time equivalent job years.
The BPU said that in addition to the economic benefits and jobs, the projects have committed to support environmental and fisheries research, monitoring, and conservation efforts totaling over $60 million.
The total bill impact of the two projects for residential customers will be $6.84 per month, beginning once these offshore wind facilities are operational and delivering clean electricity to the New Jersey grid, which is expected to be sometime after the year 2030. The impact will be $58.73 per month for commercial customers, and $513.22 per month for industrial customers, according to a BPU factsheet on the projects.
Damian Bednarz, managing director of Attentive Energy, said the Attentive Energy Two proposal affirms the company’s commitment to accelerate renewable energy and combat the climate crisis head-on.
“As a responsive and forward-thinking concept for offshore wind, this project puts community first on and off the shore,” Bednarz said. “We are excited about the opportunity to work with New Jersey to help reach the state’s ambitious clean energy goals while driving economic growth and improving the lives of all New Jerseyans.”
Invenergy, a Chicago-based global developer and operator of sustainable energy solutions, issued a statement on Wednesday applauding the BPU for “prioritizing American offshore wind know-how to lead the clean energy transition.”
“Invenergy, Leading Light Wind’s lead developer, is committed to cultivating American innovation and is optimistic that today’s decision will unlock future opportunities for the next wave of American companies in this important domestic industry,” said Wes Jacobs, senior project director for Offshore Wind Development at Invenergy. “This is an immensely exciting beginning to a long-term partnership between Leading Light Wind and New Jersey.”
The BPU is expected to launch a fourth solicitation for offshore wind projects later this year.
