N.J. approves two more big offshore wind projects
The Board of Public Utilities approved projects totaling 3.7 gigawatts, or enough to power about 1.6 million homes, after another offshore wind developer pulled out of the state in November.
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New Jersey officials, stung last year when a major offshore wind developer backed out of the state’s first big project, moved ahead on Wednesday by approving two more utility-scale projects for off the coast, but this time much farther out to sea.
The state’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approved the projects totaling 3.7 gigawatts, or enough to power about 1.6 million homes, according to the companies. BPU staff, however, put the number at about 1.8 million homes.
“This investment in clean energy is really about the future of New Jersey,” BPU president Christine Guhl-Sadovy said. “And about our fight against climate change.”
What are the projects?
Chicago-based Invenergy Wind Offshore and partner New York-based energyRe would provide 2.4 gigawatts through their Leading Light Wind project. The wind farm would be within an 84,000-acre federal lease 40 miles east of Long Beach Island in an area known as the New York Bight. Offshore construction is expected to start in 2028 and begin producing power for up to 1 million homes in 2031, according to Leading Light’s website.
Jersey City-based Attentive Energy would provide up to 1.3 gigawatts, or enough to power more than 600,000 homes. The wind farm would be 47.5 miles roughly off the coast of Sea Girt, also within the New York Bight.
New Jersey has one other offshore wind project on the books: Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind. That project, a partnership between Shell New Energies and EDF Renewables North America, is set to built between 10 to 20 miles off the coast between Atlantic City and Barnegat Light. The wind farm would be able to produce 1.5 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, enough to power up to 700,000 homes.
In November, offshore wind developer Orsted stunned state officials by abruptly pulling out of two planned projects known as Ocean Wind 1 and 2. They were to deliver about 2.2 gigawatts of renewable energy once completed. Orsted cited a turn in economics, including “high inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain bottlenecks,” as reasons.
Gov. Phil Murphy, who has long backed a robust offshore wind program as a way of tackling climate change, called Orsted’s decision “outrageous” but nevertheless vowed to continue building an offshore wind portfolio of 11 gigawatts by 2040. Offshore wind was to be the linchpin of achieving his goal of producing 100% clean energy in the state by 2050.
‘Transition away from fossil fuels’
The news heartened some environmental groups.
“Today’s awards bring New Jersey one step closer to meeting our clean energy goals,” said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. “Coming off the hottest year on record, we need to transition away from fossil fuels and build a future where clean, renewable energy powers our state’s economy.”
Anjuli Ramos-Busot, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, called the BPU’s vote in favor of the projects “a historic milestone for New Jersey’s just transition to clean energy and in advancing our offshore wind goals.”
And a statement from Leading Light called selection of the wind projects “a tremendous step forward for the growth of the domestic offshore wind industry.”
Pushback
State officials have faced opposition by Shore-area groups that came out against offshore wind farms. The groups, which have sometimes aligned with pro-fossil fuel organizations, fear turbines would be visible from the beach and threaten the Shore’s economy. Approved wind arrays call for up to 100 skyscraper-high turbines that would jut from the sea.
The wind farms approved Wednesday, however, would be much farther off the coast, rendering the turbines nearly invisible because they would be over the curvature of the earth, the companies say.
Opponents also maintain that recent and current surveying of the ocean floor by vessels using sonar can be harmful to aquatic species. They’ve suggested a link between surveying vessels and a spate of whale deaths in recent years. Scientists have disputed the claims about whales, saying the marine mammals are more endangered from colliding with other vessels that ply the coast.
Robin Shaffer, president of Protect Our Coast New Jersey, an anti-wind farm group, called the BPU’s vote for the new arrays “a disgraceful breach of the BPU’s responsibility to protect New Jersey consumers.”
Economic impact
New Jersey is developing a 200-acre New Jersey Wind Port in Salem County to foster the nascent offshore wind industry with marshaling operations — staging, assembling, and shipping — as well as manufacturing of giant turbines. It helped with a separate manufacturing area built by EEW AOS at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal upriver in Gloucester County to build the 3 million-pound, 300-foot-long, all-steel foundations for turbines known as monopoles.
The state has committed about $600 million to offshore wind and has spent a few hundred million of that.
The new wind projects would bolster the Wind Port and Paulsboro Marine Terminal that were economically challenged by Orsted’s withdrawal, officials said. The projects bring the state’s program back on track, they said.
The board said the cost impacts of the new projects would add $6.84 a month to the average residential customer’s bill; $58.73 a month to the average commercial bill, and $513.22 a month to the average industrial bill, the Associated Press reported. The higher charges would not take effect until the projects are providing power to the electrical grid in 2031 and 2032, the board said.