July 1, 2021 — The EDF/Shell Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind venture and a second phase of Ørsted’s Ocean Wind project were awarded a combined 2,658 megawatts of capacity by New Jersey utilities regulators Wednesday, in what state officials call the largest U.S. combined award to date.
The vote by the state Board of Public Utilities raises the state’s total planned capacity to over 3,700 MW, nearly half of a goal of 7,500 MW by 2035 set by Gov. Phil Murphy.
The board allocated 1,510 MW to Atlantic Shores and 1,148 MW to Ocean Wind II for their neighboring federal leases off Long Beach Island and Atlantic City, N.J.
Both developers will build new manufacturing facilities at the New Jersey Wind Port planned at the mouth of the Delaware River in Salem County, and use a foundation manufacturing facility upriver at the Port of Paulsboro, state officials said. Those projects are projected to be commissioned in 2027 through 2029.
“Combined, the two projects are estimated to create 7,000 full- and or part-time jobs across the development, construction and operational phases of the projects. This yields approximately 56,000 full time equivalent job-years, as some jobs will be shorter term and others will last for many years,” according to a BPU statement. “They will also generate $3.5 billion in economic benefits and power 1.15 million homes with clean energy.”
The BPU agreement requires the developers to contribute $10,000 per megawatt of capacity – some $26 million in all – to fund environmental research initiatives and wildlife and fishery monitoring in the region, with the money administered by the BPU and state Department of Environmental Protection.