The New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Board (NJEDA) has approved the purchase of a property enabling the planned expansion of the NJ Wind Port in Salem County.
The purchase of the 109.4-acre property from NDEV, a subsidiary of PSEG Power, will enable Phase 2 of the project as proposed, expanding the Port’s total footprint to over 220 acres and enabling it to support marshalling of two wind projects concurrently as well as up to three co-located manufacturing facilities.
The approval took place during a recent board meeting
The NJ Wind Port will provide a location for essential staging, assembly, and manufacturing activities related to offshore wind projects on the US east coast.
At full build-out, the Wind Port has the potential to create up to 1500 manufacturing, assembly, and operations jobs.
Phase 1 of the Wind Port broke ground in September 2021 with marshalling activities due to commence in early 2024.
“Today’s approval is another major step forward for the New Jersey Wind Port and for delivering on Governor Murphy’s goal of making New Jersey the engine room of the US offshore wind supply chain,” said NJEDA CEO Tim Sullivan.
“The ability to marshal two projects at once, with additional space for component manufacturing, will turbocharge job creation, opportunities for small businesses, and all forms of ancillary economic activity both locally and across the state.”
Sullivan added that expanded marshalling capacity will also help to alleviate the current shortfall in fit-for-purpose port capacity across the region, helping states up and down the US east coast to deliver on their wind targets on time and cost-effectively.
The 109.4-acre property is set directly north of property the NJEDA is leasing from PSEG Nuclear to develop Phase 1 of the NJ Wind Port.
It is currently permitted as a confined disposal facility (CDF), with the permitting process to enable the Port’s expansion due to commence shortly.
The purchase from NDEV was for a negotiated price of $24.25m.
NJEDA expects to commence tenant selection for parcels of the property in the coming months.