New Jersey was an early leader on U.S. offshore wind power, passing the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act in 2010 with the intent to develop offshore wind power for hundreds of thousands of homes. A sharp drop in political will at the time led to more than seven years of stagnation, but 2018 delivered a new day. Shortly after taking office, Governor Phil Murphy revived the existing legislation and re-committed the Garden State to being an offshore wind  trail-blazer, and he’s got a lot to work with. New Jersey has massive offshore wind power potential (enough for almost 23 million homes!), and the federal government has already auctioned a large area far offshore to two developers. Governor Murphy signed an Executive Order on January 31, 2018 setting the nation’s largest offshore wind power goal: 3,500 megawatts by 2030. Underscoring the urgency of climate change and the need to advance clean energy solutions, he told the crowd gathered in Atlantic City: “we have a lot to do so we better get to it.”

 Milestones:

• February 2021: Atlantic Shores, offshore wind developer, entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with six New Jersey unions as part of its bid submission, committing to help develop and employ a productive, safe, and well-trained local workforce. Learn more.
• November 2020: New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) moves to make NJ the first state to align offshore wind transmission policy with regional plan. Learn more.
• September 2020: NJBPU opened the State’s second solicitation for up to 2,400 megawatts, potentially tripling the State’s committed capacity, and approved the final New Jersey Offshore Wind Strategic Plan. Learn more.
• July 2020: New Jersey Board of Public Utilities issued solicitation guidance for the second NJ offshore wind project and will receive public input on the document at a virtual meeting on August 5. Learn more.
• July 2020: The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and the Interagency Taskforce on Offshore Wind released its draft Offshore WInd Strategic Plan (OSWP). Learn more.
• June 2020: Governor Murphy announced plans to develop the New Jersey Wind Port, a first-in-the-nation infrastructure investment that will provide a location for essential staging, assembly, and manufacturing activities related to offshore wind projects on the East Coast. Learn more.
• March 2020: The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved the second interconnection agreement to bring power generated from the 1,100 megawatt (MW) offshore wind energy project, Ocean Wind, ashore. Orsted, the owner of Ocean Wind, said the second interconnection was purchased in order to keep all options open while they make a definitive decision on interconnection.
• February 2020: Governor Murphy announced the offshore wind solicitation schedule to meet the 7,500 megawatt (MW) goal by 2035 and called upon the New Jersey board of Public Utilities to take all necessary actions to implement the schedule.
• January 2020: Governor Murphy announced his Energy Master Plan  formalizing a major role for offshore wind power in New Jersey’s strategy to achieve a 100 percent clean energy future by 2050.
• December 2019: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection announced a newly established working group of fishing and conservation groups to provide guidance to the Administration’s strategy and approach to achieving its offshore wind goals.
• November 2019: Governor Phil Murphy took a major step forward for clean energy in New Jersey by signing an Executive Order to more than double the state’s offshore wind commitment. Joined by former Vice President Al Gore, Governor Murphy increased the state’s offshore wind goal to 7,500 by 2035 – enough to power over 3 million Garden State homes and create thousands of jobs.
• June 2019: The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities voted unanimously to select the state’s first, and America’s largest, offshore wind energy project, Ocean Wind. The project was awarded Offshore Renewable Energy Credits (ORECs) for 1,100 MW – enough to power approximately 500,000 homes. Ocean Wind will be developed 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City by Ørsted. Learn more and retweet our thank you to Governor Murphy!
• December 2018: Developers submitted bids to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) in response to the solicitation issued in September. Selection(s) are expected to be announced in Spring 2019. Learn more.
• November 2018: U.S.Wind submitted an application to assign their lease to EDF Renewables. BOEM approved the request the following month.
• September 2018: Governor Murphy announced an assertive timeline for achieving his goal of 3,500 MW of offshore wind power by 2030, calling on the BPU to move toward an 1,100 MW solicitation immediately, followed by 1,200 MW solicitations in both 2020 and 2022. The BPU followed by promptly beginning the process to accept applications for projects totaling 1,100 MW. Learn more.
• September 2018: BOEM hosted a public meeting to discuss feedback they received from their Call for Information and Nominations for potential offshore wind energy leasing and development in the New York Bight.
• May 2018: Governor Murphy signed into law New Jersey’s commitment to developing 3,500 megawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. Learn more.
• May 2018: BOEM approved the SAP for Ocean Wind. This approval allows for the installation of two floating light and detection ranging buoys (FLiDARs) and one metocean/current buoy.
• January 2018: Newly inaugurated Governor Phil Murphy signed an Executive Order setting a state offshore wind power goal of 3,500 megawatts by 2030. The Order calls for the full implementation of the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act with a solicitation of 1,100 megawatts. Learn more.
• September 2017: Ocean Wind submitted a Site Assessment Plan (SAP) which was subsequently revised in November 2017, January 2018, and February 2018
• November 2016: Deepwater Wind, the developer that built America’s first offshore wind power project in Rhode Island, secured a federal lease area off the coast of Delaware that could deliver power to New Jersey.
• November 2015: A large area of federal waters starting seven miles off the coast of New Jersey was auctioned to two offshore wind developers. The current leaseholders are US Wind, Inc. and Ørsted. Learn more.
• September 2015: BOEM announced a commercial lease auction would be held November 9, 2015. The auction represented the fifth competitive lease sale for renewable energy on the OCS. 
• July 2014: BOEM announced and published a Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) and a request for public comment on their proposal to auction two leases offshore New Jersey for commercial wind energy development. 
• July 2012: BOEM issued a “Finding of No Historic Properties Affected for the Issuance of Commercial Leases within the New Jersey Wind Energy Area.
• February 2012:  The Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM) published a Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for commercial wind lease issuance and site assessment activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. 

Resources

• Governor Phil Murphy’s Executive Order to Promote Offshore Wind Energy
• Offshore Wind Economic Development Act
• For maps and the latest updates on the federal offshore wind leasing and permitting process off the coast of New Jersey, visit the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management‘s New Jersey page.