The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has voted to open the application window for the US state’s third solicitation for offshore wind capacity.
The third solicitation seeks to award between 1.2GW and 4GW of offshore wind capacity, building on the previously awarded 3.75GW and will help New Jersey to achieve Governor Phil Murphy’s goal of 11GW of offshore wind by 2040.
“Today marks a pivotal next step toward accomplishment of our offshore wind development goals,” said Murphy, adding: “Offshore wind constitutes a crucial component of our journey to 100% clean energy by 2035, a benchmark that solidifies our position at the national forefront of climate action.”
While developing the State’s offshore wind resources, NJBPU will continue to coordinate with the applicable federal agencies with jurisdiction and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to ensure projects are responsibly developed and sited.
As part of the NJBPU’s second offshore wind energy solicitation, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind and Ocean Wind committed $10,000 per MW of project size-awarded capacity – or approximately $26.5m – to fund regional research and monitoring to assess the impacts of offshore wind on New Jersey’s natural resources.
The Research and Monitoring Initiative will identify, prioritise and fund projects in regional research and monitoring of marine and coastal resources before and during offshore wind development, construction, operation and maintenance and decommissioning as recommended in the New Jersey Offshore Wind Strategic Plan.
The Board is recommending that any projects selected in the third solicitation contribute funding to this initiative.
In opening the third solicitation, the board also issued its Third Solicitation Guidance Document, which was developed through a robust public stakeholder process and provides the solicitation’s mechanics and timeline, project application requirements and evaluation criteria.
The application window opens on 6 March 2023 and closes on 23 June 2023, with the board expected to make a decision on the submitted applications by the end of 2023.