Offshore wind giants unveil gigawatt bids for New Jersey tender

The 1.3GW Community Wind is proposed by National Grid and RWE, generating a potential $6 billion in economic benefits for the state, according to the companies. 

The plan was submitted on Friday (4 August) to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU). The developers forecast that the project would reduce New Jersey’s electric system greenhouse gas emissions by 52 million tonnes over its lifetime, equivalent to taking more than 11 million cars off the road.

The project would be 59km offshore, and would not be visible from the coast. The joint venture paid $1.12 billion for the site in the New York Bight auction in February 2022. 

Leading Light Wind – a joint venture of Invenergy and EnergyRE and the only US-led project in the New York Bight auction – also submitted an offshore wind project to the NJBPU.

The 2.4GW project would represent more than $3 billion in economic development benefits for the Garden State, the partners said.

“Leading Light Wind is ready to build out a world-leading domestic offshore wind industry with American-led ingenuity and expertise,” said Ryan Brown, EnergyRE’s chief operating officer.

Shell New Energies US and EDF Renewables North America bid an as-yet-unnamed project closer to shore, at 16-32km. They are already developing the two-phase 2.7GW Atlantic Shores wind farm. 

The joint venture said the project would be the most “ready-made” proposal available in the solicitation, with the advantages of Atlantic Shores’ advanced permitting programme.

A fourth project was also bid but no details were released by the NJBPU. Other companies successful in the $4.4bn New York Bight auction were TotalEnergies, EDP Renováveis and Engie, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

New Jersey has an ambitious goal of 11GW of offshore wind online by 2040.

The financial viability of the projects will be watched closely. Atlantic Shores 1 recently said its project was “at risk” if it does not receive additional financial help. 

The request for state aid came after New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm, Ørsted’s {{Ocean Wind 1-1a3cd988-b07d-f1ac-c691-4e70d3978f40}}, received a sizeable tax break at the end of June. 

According to Associated Press, Community Offshore and Leading Light have said they would not seek the same extra state help as Ørsted’s Ocean Wind 1. 

The news service also reported that Atlantic Shores announced on 4 August that it is in communication with the office of the pro-wind governor, Phil Murphy; the NJBPU and state lawmakers regarding financial possibilities.