Offshore Wind
Offshore wind is a renewable energy technology that reduces the need for fossil fuel generation. By doing so, offshore wind can mitigate climate change impacts and support economic development for the New Jersey workforce.
Status
Applications are closed
Schedule
Renewed through September 10, 2026
Program Contacts
Relevant Audiences
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About Offshore Wind in New Jersey
Offshore wind is a renewable energy technology that reduces the need for fossil fuel generation. By doing so, offshore wind can mitigate climate change impacts and support economic development for the New Jersey workforce. This renewable resource can be harnessed to generate clean, carbon-free electricity for the grid. Moreover, anchoring the offshore wind supply chain in New Jersey has the potential to create thousands of jobs and generate additional in-state economic opportunities.
Wind energy is a byproduct of the sun. The uneven heating of the atmosphere and earth’s surface creates wind from solar radiation. Wind energy is a sustainable resource that can supplement and even replace other forms of energy generation, such as coal and natural gas power plants. Fossil fuel-based energy generation is a contributor to atmospheric greenhouse gases that drive climate change. Increasing wind energy generation can mitigate climate change hazards and improve environmental and air quality at both regional and global scales by reducing greenhouse gasses emitted into the atmosphere.
Utility scale offshore wind energy projects are composed of many individual wind turbines organized into an array that optimize efficiency and minimize impacts to the environment and other maritime uses. As wind arrays operate, they create useable electricity that is transported to land for consumption using undersea transmission cables. Similar to many renewable energy technologies, the cost effectiveness and capacity potential of offshore wind has improved tremendously over the past few decades, making now a great time for New Jersey to develop its offshore wind portfolio.
The BPU supports the clean energy goals of Governor Murphy which target 7,500 MW of offshore wind energy by 2035 and will establish New Jersey as a leader in offshore wind development. Through strategic planning and intensive inter-agency collaboration at both state and federal levels, New Jersey can expand its renewable energy resources while simultaneously supporting workforce development throughout the offshore wind supply chain. By doing so, our residents will not only realize the environmental benefits, but also the socio-economic paybacks as well.
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Offshore Wind Resources and Benefits
Offshore Wind and the Grid
New Jersey took a monumental step on November 18, 2020, becoming the first state to integrate its offshore wind transmission objectives with the regional grid operator's planning and development process. To position the State to reach Governor Phil Murphy's ambitious OSW goals, the Board formally requested inclusion of its offshore wind public policy into the PJM, LLC ("PJM") regional transmission expansion planning analysis through the State Agreement Approach ("SAA"). In response to the SAA solicitation, transmission developers submitted 80 unique, competitive, ready-to-build designs seeking to integrate New Jersey's OSW resources into the PJM system.
On October 2022, the Board selected a series of projects to construct the on-shore transmission facilities necessary to successfully deliver offshore wind to New Jersey customers. The awards include a variety of projects needed to strengthen the regional and near-shore transmission grids, including the identification of a preferred point of interconnection for future offshore wind projects off the coast of New Jersey. The Board finds that this "transmission-first" approach to offshore wind, undertaken in partnership with its regional grid operator, PJM, will lower costs, reduce the chance of delays in offshore wind projects, and minimize community and environmental impacts.
Up to three future offshore wind projects may utilize the SAA solution, which was designed and selected to support New Jersey's then existing goal of 7,500 MW by 2035. The Board has directed staff to take steps necessary to evaluate whether a second SAA transmission solicitation is needed to achieve the new goal of 11,000 MW.
Offshore Wind Solicitations
Fifth Offshore Wind Solicitation information coming soon!
Previous Offshore Wind Solicitations to date
Transmission
Transmission Overview
As with most clean energy generation, connecting projects into the regional energy system is critical. For offshore wind generation projects, interconnection involves the transport of electricity generated offshore to onshore landings, known as points of interconnection (POI). From these points, the electricity is injected into the grid. In New Jersey, the electric grid is operated by a multi-state regional transmission organization (RTO), PJM Interconnection, LLC (PJM).
There are two main ways that offshore wind energy is interconnected to the grid – either through independent or radial export cables or through a coordinated transmission system that enables multiple projects to share transmission infrastructure.
Radial Transmission
Radial export cables, where the cable installation is bundled with offshore wind generation installation is the default approach in the absence of coordinated transmission. This approach has been commonly used in European offshore wind and has been proposed for most U.S. offshore wind projects to date. Radial export cables utilize one or more high voltage alternating current (HVAC) or high voltage direct current (HVDC) cables to transmit power from individual projects to one or more POIs. The cables need to be built in line with the project schedule. New Jersey required radial export cables to be used for the first and second offshore wind solicitations.
Coordinated Transmission
On November 18, 2020, the NJBPU positioned New Jersey to be the first state to align its offshore wind transmission goals with its regional grid operator’s planning process. In furtherance of these objectives, set out by Governor Phil Murphy’s goal at the time of 7,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035, and by the Legislature, the Board formally requested the inclusion of this state public policy into the transmission planning process of PJM through a competitive solicitation process in what is known as the State Agreement Approach (SAA). By making this formal request, the NJBPU used the SAA to explore options for optimal long-term offshore wind transmission solutions that otherwise may not have been available at this stage of development. In response to the SAA solicitation (SAA 1.0), transmission developers submitted 80 unique, competitive, ready-to-build designs seeking to integrate New Jersey’s offshore wind resources into the PJM system.
SAA.1.0
Ultimately, the Board awarded a series of projects through SAA 1.0 to construct the onshore transmission facilities necessary to successfully deliver the electricity generated by multiple offshore wind projects to the electric transmission system. A cornerstone of the awarded projects under SAA 1.0 is the Larrabee Collector Station (LCS) which provides a single POI with the grid for select qualified offshore wind projects. All awarded projects use existing technology commonly used in electricity transmission.
Prebuild Infrastructure
As part of the SAA 1.0 project awards, the Board described the Prebuild Infrastructure (PBI), which is the infrastructure between the landfall point at Sea Girt National Guard Training Center and the Larrabee Collector Station POI. The PBI will include the installation of the necessary underground infrastructure to house the transmission conduits for future use by multiple qualified offshore wind projects, thereby enabling these projects to access the wholesale transmission system. The underground infrastructure envisioned is common for housing power cables to meet electricity needs in highly populated areas.
The benefits that are envisioned from the PBI include minimizing costs and risks to ratepayers through increased competition, and reduced environmental and community impacts through the consolidation of the transmission facilities into fewer onshore corridors and fewer construction efforts than would otherwise be necessary with radial interconnections.