New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) president Christine Guhl-Sadovy have initiated the fourth offshore wind solicitation with the approval of a guidance document.
According to NJBPU, the fourth solicitation aims to encourage competition, promote economic development, and combat climate impacts.
“This latest solicitation is further proof of our commitment to building a strong and thriving offshore wind industry that will deliver undeniable economic and environmental benefits to our state, for both this generation and the next,” said Governor Murphy.
“BPU’s latest solicitation will help guarantee that New Jersey residents have access to clean, affordable energy produced right here at home and powered by our very own union workforce.”
In September 2022, Governor Murphy signed a new executive order, increasing the state’s offshore wind target for 2040 from 7.5 GW to 11 GW.
So far, New Jersey held three auctions for offshore wind projects.
In 2019, the Garden State awarded the largest single offshore wind project in the country to Ørsted’s 1.1 GW Ocean Wind which the developer canceled due to additional supplier delays impacting the project schedule.
In 2021, the second solicitation resulted in the largest combined award of 2.6 GW of offshore wind capacity to EDF/Shell’s Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind and Ørsted’s Ocean Wind II projects.
In its most recent solicitation, on 24 January, the Board awarded two of New Jersey’s largest offshore wind projects to date, the 1,342 MW Attentive Energy Two project (developed by a joint venture between TotalEnergies and Corio Generation) and the 2,400 MW Leading Light Wind project (developed by Invenergy and energyRE).
According to NJBPU, the projects are anticipated to produce USD 6.8 billion in economic benefits to the state, including approximately 4,350 new jobs in direct construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms, as well as jobs in the offshore wind supply chain and related fields.
