NJ offshore wind solicitation schedule proposed

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has proposed a series of five additional solicitations for offshore wind energy proposals, in support of the state's goal to reach 7,500 megawatts of installed offshore wind capacity by 2035.

New Jersey enacted the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act in 2010. In 2018, Governor Murphy issued Executive Order No. 8, directing all New Jersey state agencies with responsibilities under the Act to fully implement it in order to meet a goal of obtaining 3,500 MW from offshore wind by the year 2030.

In 2018, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities issued a solicitation for 1,100 megawatts of offshore wind energy generation, and in 2019 selected developer Ørsted's Ocean Wind project for contracting. The Board also developed a proposed timeline under which it would solicit 1,200 additional megawatts of offshore wind generation in 2020 and 2022. Later that year, Governor Murphy issued Executive Order No. 92, which replaced the 3,500 megawatt goal with a new mandate that state agencies take actions supporting an expanded goal of 7,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy generation by the year 2035.

Now, Governor Murphy has announced a proposed schedule for solicitations to meet the 7,500 megawatt goal. As proposed, the Board would initiate the next 1,200 MW solicitation by September 2020, and would award a contract by the second quarter of 2021. Four more solicitations, for a total of six rounds, would occur with contracts awarded through 2029.

According to the Murphy administration, setting a solicitation schedule through 2035 "provides a crucial level of certainty for developers, original equipment manufacturers, and the supply chain."