New Jersey’s First Offshore Wind Farm Gets Final Approvals from BOEM
The Atlantic Shores South project, which would consist of two large offshore wind farms, received its final approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. It is a critical step for a state that says it is dedicated to making clean energy a priority but which continues to suffer setbacks in its ambitions.
The project is a 50/50 partnership between Shell New Energies US and EDF-RE Offshore Development and will become New Jersey’s first offshore wind energy site. BOEM approved the construction and operation plan for the development which calls for up to 2.8 GW of power between two equally sized projects. They highlight it could power up to one million homes.
Called Atlantic Shores 1 and 2, it will be located at its closest point at nearly nine miles from the Jersey coast but the company has previously said construction will be at least 12.8 miles from shore. It will be in a region between Atlantic City, Sea Girt, and Long Beach Island in southern New Jersey. The plan calls for up to 197 wind turbines as well as the necessary substations and other equipment.
“Securing these critical approvals enables New Jersey’s first offshore wind project to start construction next year and represents meaningful progress in New Jersey achieving 100 percent clean energy by 2035,” said Joris Veldhoven, Chief Executive Officer, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind. He said the first phase Atlantic Shores 1 would start moving forward and that the second phase would build on the first-mover success to drive the state over the next decade.
The project is moving forward despite significant local opposition. Various groups have fought to prevent the development of the project.
For New Jersey, it represents a restart after Ørsted canceled its two large projects in 2023 which were expected to be the first in the state. New Jersey has other projects in the development pipeline but they too have encountered difficulties.
Last week, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities granted Leading Light Wind a pause on its project through December 20. The project is in the licensing phase after having been selected by the state but the developer which is a partnership between two American companies, Invenergy and energyRe, reporting it is having problems securing a supplier agreement for its turbines. The plan calls for it to be located over 40 miles off the coast, generating 2.4 GW of energy. Construction was projected to begin by 2028 and be in operation by 2031.
New Jersey also ran a solicitation over the summer but reported it only received three proposals in July. That included Atlantic Shores, which was seeking to reset a prior price agreement as well as Attentive Energy which was the other developer selected in January alongside Leading Light. They are proposing a second phase while Community Wind also resubmitted a reworked proposal for a project that was previously passed over in the selection process. The state said it would announce its steps forward by December.