Offshore wind growth

Government and industry officials recently attended the groundbreaking of the US$300-400m New Jersey Wind Port that is being built for essential staging, assembly, and manufacturing activities related to offshore wind projects on the East Coast.

“Investing in offshore wind is vital to building a stronger, greener economy that creates high-paying jobs to support a robust recovery from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and paves the way for long-term, equitable growth,” said Governor of New Jersey, Philip Murphy. “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.”

A project labour agreement (PLA) has also been signed by AECOM-Tishman and the United Building Trades Council of Southern New Jersey AFL-CIO.

Development timeline

The New Jersey Wind Port will be located on an artificial island on the eastern shores of the Delaware River, southwest of the City of Salem. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) is currently preparing the site and finalising its design.

Earthworks will begin work onsite in the coming weeks and major construction is due to start in December 2021, with the goal of opening the port in winter 2023/2024.

Several potential tenants have already expressed interest in the port site, including Ørsted and Atlantic Shores through their winning bids in the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ (NJBPU) recent offshore wind power solicitation. The winning bids included proposals to partner with turbine manufactures GE and Vestas to build nacelle assembly facilities at the port. NJEDA will be launching an additional tenant selection process in the coming weeks to negotiate agreements with these potential tenants.