New Jersey Announces Largest Procurement of Offshore Wind Power in Nation

Sierra Club applauds state’s awarding of 1100MW of offshore wind, enough to power 850,000 homes. 

TRENTON — Today the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has approved a proposal from Orsted for 1100MW  of offshore wind. This solicitation award is part of Governor Murphy’s Executive Order No. 8. The order sets a goal of providing 3,500 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030 with at least 1,100 megawatts to be procured as soon as possible.

“Today is a great win for wind and a great day for the environment. This is a real accomplishment in making wind power a reality off the coast of New Jersey. This is the largest procurement in the country to date, making the state a national leader in offshore wind. It will help power 850,000 homes and add 15,000 jobs. Offshore wind will move us forward when it comes to clean energy and green jobs. It is one of the most reliable and cost-effective ways to reduce greenhouse gases and get renewable energy to scale,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This will help reduce GHG emissions such as C02 by 3 million tons, which is around what the Meadowlands Power Plant would emit. We would rather have offshore wind, than a polluting natural gas power plant.”  

“We thank Governor Murphy and the BPU for keeping their commitment and getting this done. We have been working on getting offshore wind for 15 years and it is thrilling that it is finally happening. Now the BPU needs to move quickly to make sure this gets the final approval it needs so that we can start building.”

Orsted also holds a lease off the coast of Atlantic City, which it says is capable of supporting 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind development.

“With this approval, this will help us become a leader in building a supply chain for offshore wind and for manufacturing and assembling wind turbines. We believe the total potential off the NJ coast is about 12,500 MW, which would supply about 60 percent of New Jersey’s electricity demand.  The 3500 MW target alone can feasibly power 1.5 million homes with clean energy,” said Tittel. “Today is a great day for wind. Now it is important for the BPU to move forward with the other 2 rounds of solicitation for offshore wind.”

A recent E2 report found that building one average offshore wind farm that produces 352MW, can create 4,313 jobs, $278.9 million in wages, and $702 million to a state’s economy.

“Offshore wind will help us create thousands of jobs in a variety of fields including construction and operation. Building 1100MW of offshore wind will help reduce our C02 emissions by close to 3 million metric tons and reductions in NOx and SOx. More importantly, building our wind infrastructure will help prevent unnecessary dirty fossil fuel plants and pipelines from being built. With Orsted being chosen, hopefully BL England will become a facility to service offshore wind, ending the power plant and the SJ Gas pipeline,” said Tittel. “New Jersey has enough potential offshore wind to meet over half of our electrical needs. Trump wants to drill off our coast, but New Jersey chose windmills off our coast. Our beaches are smoke free and so should our energy.”

“Offshore wind was delayed by former Governor Chris Christie for eight years, which makes this historic day even more significant. BPU needs to execute any final approvals as quickly as possible. Now that we are finally getting the first 1300MW built, we need to move forward on the remainder of our 3500MW target. New Jersey should also take the next step and set a goal in the Energy Master Plan to reach our full economic potential of 12,500MW of offshore wind by 2035,,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This is not just about competing with other states, this is a fight against time and the climate crisis. This is a real milestone for New Jersey in that battle. Governor Murphy made us a national leader by making good on his commitment to offshore wind. This is a victory for clean air, green jobs, and the environment.”