The New Jersey Wind Port — a massive facility under construction in Salem County that is designed to support offshore wind development along the East Coast — will soon have its inaugural tenant. The state Economic Development Authority this week approved a two-year, $25 million lease with the Danish energy company Ørsted, which will occupy 34 acres to use as a staging and support area for its Ocean Wind 1 project.
Gov. Phil Murphy recently signed a law awarding Ørsted hundreds of millions of dollars of federal tax credits to help pay for Ocean Wind 1; the company is slated to begin building that project this fall. But that schedule could be pushed back, if anti-offshore wind groups have their way. A new lawsuit filed by offshore wind opponents on Thursday challenges the constitutionality of the subsidy law, arguing that it is unfairly written to benefit Ørsted only.
— Editor’s note: Ørsted is an underwriter of NJ Spotlight News.
