June 21, 2019
Danish wind company Orsted will lead New Jersey's first-ever offshore wind project, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities announced Friday, taking on the 1,100-megawatt project in federal waters.
The project, dubbed "Ocean Wind," will be constructed 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City, according to Green Tech Media. Construction isn't expected to begin until 2020 at the earliest, and is expected to be completed by 2024.
The project will generate enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of half a million homes, according to the Board of Public Utilities, and is expected to create about 15,000 jobs over the life of the project.
“Today’s historic announcement will revolutionize the offshore wind industry here in New Jersey and along the entire East Coast,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in a release Friday.
Orsted said it plans to open an operations and maintenance base for Ocean Wind in Atlantic City, which will provide a majority of the expected jobs.
The state received bids from three different firms last December with interest in landing the project, three months after the Board of Public Utilities opened up applications for solicitations. The Board was looking for projects generating at least 1,100 megawatts.
New Jersey is expected to launch two more solicitations, for 1,200-megawatt projects, next year and in 2022, according to Green Tech Media.
Rhode Island is the only state currently utilizing offshore wind-energy projects. Its Block Island Wind Farm, a 30 megawatt project, began operation in December 2016.
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