Credit: (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)A trio of energy companies submitted bids to state regulators for building New Jersey’s latest round of offshore wind projects.
The largest of the three came from Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, which resubmitted its Atlantic Shores South project, seeking to enlarge and update an agreement that the Board of Public Utilities had approved during the second request for bids in 2021. Atlantic Shores is a joint venture of Shell and EDF Renewables; the Atlantic Shores South project received federal approval last week.
Atlantic Shores South is planned to have nearly 200 wind turbines spread across a lease area that is just less than nine miles from the Jersey Shore at its nearest point.
“New Jersey is ready for offshore wind renewable power, and so is Atlantic Shores,” Joris Veldhoven, the CEO of Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, said in a statement. “Our proposal serves to expand and enhance existing strategic partnerships while growing our portfolio of economic development initiatives across the Garden State.”
Attentive Energy, a partnership between TotalEnergies and Corio Generation, submitted a bid to expand on its Attentive Energy 2 project, which won its first state approval in the BPU’s third solicitation for bids. Attentive Energy said in a statement that its new application seeks to “to build off of the momentum and early successes” of the project. The Attentive Energy 2 project’s lease area is 42 miles offshore New Jersey.
Second try
The third bid was for Community Offshore Wind, a joint venture of National Grid and Germany-based RWE. The project is planned for a lease area that is 37 miles from the Garden State’s coast. This is the second time Community Offshore Wind has sought BPU approval; its application during the third solicitation was not selected.
“Community Offshore Wind submitted a proposal to help achieve Governor Murphy’s ambitious clean energy goals, while growing New Jersey’s economy and continuing to build a local offshore wind supply chain,” Doug Perkins, the president of Community Offshore Wind, said in a statement. “Our proposed project would generate 1.3 GW of clean wind energy and create programs to benefit communities for decades, including creating jobs for New Jersey workers and supporting new clean energy career pathways for future generations. New Jersey is well-positioned to become a hub of the US offshore wind industry, and we look forward to working with our partners in Trenton and communities across the Garden State.”
The BPU is expected to announce which of the three new bids are selected in December. Combined, the three projects submitted in this solicitation would produce roughly 4.4 gigawatts of electricity. Gov. Phil Murphy has set a target for New Jersey to produce 11 GW of offshore wind power by the year 2040.
This fourth offshore wind solicitation opened in April, earlier than originally planned after Murphy directed the BPU to accelerate its timeline in response to the Halloween cancellation by Ørsted of its Ocean Wind project.
The end of this latest solicitation comes just days after New Jersey joined nine other northeastern states in committing to upgrading the regional power grid. The goal is to find ways to improve electricity sharing through the region, to accommodate the future flow of offshore wind power and to build resilience during future disasters and periods of high demand.
“Now more than ever, our electric grid serves as the foundation from which we will continue to build our clean energy future,” BPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy said in a statement. “As we continue to grow our burgeoning offshore wind industry — while capitalizing on its significant environmental and economic benefits — we will also continue to collaborate with our regional partners to build a transmission network that is increasingly more reliable and resilient.”
