The Atlantic Shores offshore wind project slated for southern New Jersey said Oct. 1 it has won federal approval to begin construction on what would be a two-part, 2.6 GW project owned by Shell New Energies and EDF Renewables.
The award follows the state’s selection of 3.74GW of new offshore wind to replace two 2.25GW projects scrapped last year by developer Orsted. Atlantic Shores CEO Joris Veldhoven said construction is scheduled to begin next year.
The project will be located between Atlantic City, NJ and Long Beach Island about 8 to 12 miles offshore, with plans for up to 197 wind turbines and onshore grid connections.
Democratic state congressmen Donald Norcross and Mikie Sherrill called Atlantic Shores “critical infrastructure” in a media statement, but Republican Jeff Van Drew said it would lead to higher electricity bills. The New Jersey-based opposition group Save Long Beach Island said Oct. 8 it will sue the developer over the project’s impacts.
The 1.5GW Atlantic Shores 1 unit has a procurement contract with the status of a previous application several years ago, but the project was resubmitted in a new round this summer that is believed to be which has increased the terms of the price of energy.
The New Jersey Public Utilities Board says it plans to make final selection of projects in December.
Meanwhile, the state utility board on Sept. 25 approved a request from another shortlisted project, the 2.3 GW Leading Light Wind, to put it on hold until Dec. 20 while its developer, Invenergy based in Chicago and New York City-based EnergyRE are looking for a new manufacturer for their estimated 100 turbines. US turbine giant GE Vernova recently changed the terms of the project, announcing it would not produce the 18MW turbines that had been specified.
The project will be located about 40 kilometers away Long Beach Islandconstruction would begin in 2028 and be operational by 2031.
New Jersey has set a target of 11 GW of offshore wind power by 2040.
