The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has granted the state’s first award for offshore wind to Ørsted for the 1.1 GW Ocean Wind project, the largest PPA awarded for US offshore wind to date.
The Ocean Wind offshore wind farm will be sited 15 miles from the Atlantic City coast and is expected to create 3,000 jobs per year during development and construction. Construction will commence in 2020 and the project is scheduled for operation in 2024. The turbines will generate 1.1 GW of clean energy and be capable of supplying electricity for half a million New Jersey homes.
New Jersey is targeting 3.5 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 100% clean energy by 2050.
Liz Burdock, President and CEO of the Business Network for Offshore Wind highlights the impact of the PPA for Ørsted…
“The award of this long-term power purchase agreement means that Ørsted can now move ahead aggressively to develop the U.S. supply chain and start the process of ordering the towers, blades, foundations, cables, and hundreds of other parts and components that will be assembled into a massive wind farm,”
Submissions closed in late 2018 and the board approved Ørsted’s Ocean Wind project over competition from 2 other developers – Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind (a partnership between EDF Renewables and Shell New Energies) and Boardwalk Wind, sponsored by Equinor.
According to Ørsted, “Ocean Wind will also bring significant investments to New Jersey. Ørsted will launch its Pro-NJ Trust fund in Cape May and Atlantic Counties which will invest up to $15 million in grants to support local infrastructure investments and to support small, women, and minority-owned business owners who wish to become part of the emerging offshore wind industry. Ørsted is also proceeding with plans to establish an Operation and Maintenance (O&M) base in Atlantic City that will provide permanent, high-skilled jobs during the 25+ lifespan of the project.”
The NJBPU’s evaluation criteria included offshore wind renewable energy certificate (OREC) purchase price, economic impact, ratepayer impact, environmental impact, the strength of guarantees for economic impact, and the likelihood of commercial success.
North America Wind Power reported… the Ocean Wind project offered a first-year OREC (offshore wind renewable energy certificate) price of $98.10/MWh. The levelized net OREC cost – which represents the actual OREC costs paid by ratepayers after energy and capacity revenues are refunded to ratepayers – is estimated at $46.46/MWh, with an estimated ratepayer impact of a monthly bill increase of $1.46 for residential, $13.05 for commercial and $110.10 for industrial customers.
Thomas Brostrøm, CEO of Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind and president of Ørsted North America said…
“Today’s announcement firmly establishes a fast-growing global industry in New Jersey, which will create jobs and supply chain in the state… Ocean Wind will ensure that the state and its residents not only benefit from clean, renewable power, but that they reap the rewards of being an early player in the offshore wind industry as it grows in the U.S.”
Sources and further reading:
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Awards Historic 1,100 MW Offshore Wind Solicitation to Ørsted’s Ocean Wind Project (NJBPU).
New Jersey Selects Ocean Wind for State’s First Offshore Wind Project (Ørsted).
Ocean Wind.
Ørsted Wins 1.1 GW Offshore Wind Award In New Jersey North American Windpower.
Image – Ørsted.
