First US purpose-built offshore wind port

Most existing port infrastructure along the US east coast is unable to accommodate offshore wind work, so the New Jersey Wind Port will provide a vital location for essential staging, assembly, and manufacturing activities related to east coast offshore wind projects. Construction is due to begin in 2021.

Governor of New Jersey, Philip Murphy, said: “The New Jersey Wind Port will create thousands of high-quality jobs, bring millions of investment dollars to our state, and establish New Jersey as the national capital of offshore wind. This is a vital step forward in achieving our goal of reaching 7,500 megawatts of offshore wind power by 2035 and 100 percent clean energy by 2050.”

The port will be located in Lower Alloways Creek Township, on an artificial island on the eastern shores of the Delaware River, southwest of the City of Salem.

Construction is planned in two phases. Phase one will develop a 30-acre site to accommodate marshalling activities and a 25-acre component manufacturing site. Phase two adds another 150+ acres to accommodate expanded marshalling activities and extensive manufacturing facilities for turbine components like blades and nacelles.

The state currently estimates the wind port will cost between US$300-400m at full build. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) is leading development and is currently considering a range of public, private, and public-private partnership (P3) financing options. The project has the potential to create up to 1,500 jobs and US$500m in economic activity.

In October 2019 it was announced that up to US$200m would be made available to upgrade port infrastructure in New York State to support the expanding offshore wind industry.