In January, Governor Murphy signed Executive Order #8 directing the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to fully implement the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act (OWEDA) and begin the process of moving the state toward a goal of 3,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy generation by the year 2030. Ørsted is the developer of Ocean Wind, a proposed offshore wind farm to be located 10 miles off the New Jersey coast.

“We are pleased that Governor Murphy has pledged his commitment to bring offshore wind to New Jersey,” said Thomas Brostrøm, President, Ørsted North America. “Our Ocean Wind project will contribute greatly to helping the Governor achieve this goal. This latest step comes on the heels of our work in undertaking geophysical surveys of the leased windfarm area to determine characteristics of the site, so that we can continue developing this project and make it a reality.”

A typical Ørsted offshore wind project creates approximately 1,000 jobs per year during a 2-3-year construction cycle, and another 100 permanent jobs to support the 25-year life of a typical offshore wind farm.

The New Jersey Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has two proposed lease areas totaling 537 square miles for offshore wind development off of the Jersey Shore, 250 square miles of which would include Ocean Wind’s proposed site. These areas could have the capacity of more than 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy generation, which could provide power to as many as 1.5 million New Jersey homes and businesses.

About Ørsted
Ørsted develops, constructs and operates offshore wind farms, bioenergy plants, and innovative waste-to-energy solutions and provides smart energy products to its customers. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 5,600 people. For more information on Ørsted, visit orsted.com. Ørsted’s North American headquarters is in Boston, Massachusetts.