Jul 1, 2021 - Energy & Climate

New Jersey greenlights offshore wind project that could power over a million homes

Ben Geman

The stars in the U.S. flag replaced by offshore wind turbines — Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

New Jersey regulators have awarded development rights for nearly 2.7 gigawatts of offshore wind power capacity to separate projects headed by Danish wind giant Ørsted and a venture between Shell and France's EDF.

The big picture: The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities awards bring the project pipeline off the state's coast to over 3.7 gigawatts, the agency said. This includes a separate, previously approved Ørsted project.

Why it matters: It's the latest move in efforts by East Coast states, federal officials and deep-pocketed energy giants to build large-scale offshore projects in the U.S., which has lagged far behind Europe in marine wind but now has a significant project pipeline.

By the numbers: The state regulators said the newly approved capacity, if indeed built, would create enough electricity to power almost 1.2 million homes and generate 7,000 full and or part-time jobs across its various phases.

Development timelines, however, are not short. Per Windpower Monthly's coverage, the projects will come online in the 2027-2029 timeframe.

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New Jersey greenlights offshore wind project that could power over a million homes

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