A offshore wind project off the coast of southern New Jersey is moving closer to construction with the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) giving its final OK.
The State of New Jersey already reached an agreement for Ocean Wind to deliver 1.1 gigawatts of offshore wind generation, with the project expected to begin operations in late 2024 or early 2025.
The project is being developed by Ørsted, which is also developing the Skipjack project off the coasts of Delaware and Maryland. Skipjack is next to the US Wind project. Both are awaiting final federal approval.
Two other East Coast projects – Vineyard Wind and South Fork Wind – received approvals and both recently saw the installation of their first foundations, according to the Business Network for Offshore Wind.
Behind the Ocean Wind 1 project is a pipeline of seven more offshore wind projects, representing approximately 14 gigawatts of offshore wind generation. The projects would generate enough electicity to power more than five million homes, based on U.S. Department of Interior figures.
“Momentum is building in the U.S. offshore wind industry with two wind farms in the water and the next projects receiving approval to begin construction,” stated Liz Burdock, founder and CEO of Baltimore-based Business Network for Offshore Wind. “Alongside this progress, the U.S. supply chain is coming to life as factory workers in Paulsboro, New Jersey, fabricators in Baltimore, Maryland, and construction workers at New Jersey’s wind port are manufacturing Ocean Wind 1’s turbine components and ports. As the nation celebrates Independence Day this week, the Department of Interior and BOEM are ensuring environmentally-responsible advancement of offshore wind projects that create jobs and enable New Jersey as well as the nation to remain energy independent with clean, reliable, and affordable electricity.”
In Delaware, the Glasgow-based Caesar Rodney Institute has been at the center of efforts to halt the projects through lawsuits and claims that offshore wind on the East Coast will harm marine life and even suggesting the deaths of whales are tied to preliminary engineering efforts.
The group also cites a study claiming towers housing the wind turbines will harm tourism and further claim offshore wind is too expensive.
Another offshore wind project in the works in New Jersey is seeking tax incentives with Repubican legislators and some town officials in that state claimng wind power projects are too expensive and will result in higher electric rates.
While no Delaware-led projects are in the works, the state is expected to benefit, with First State workers expected to be part of construction and other projects. in Maryland and even New Jersey. Also, underground power lines from the Skipjack and US Wind projects are likely to come ashore here since Delaware has a more robust grid in coastal areas.
