((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto))
(Added quotes from Invenergy CEO) by Scott DiSavino and Nichola Groom
New Jersey’s utility regulator on Wednesday approved two offshore wind energy projects with a combined capacity of 3,742 megawatts (MW), developed by Invenergy and TotalEnergies TTEF.PA.
“Today’s action brings New Jersey closer to Governor Phil Murphy’s goal of achieving 100 percent clean energy by 2035,” the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) said. The council said the two projects would bring about $6.8 billion in economic benefits to the state and provide enough energy to power about 1.8 million homes.
The offshore wind sector is expected to play a major role in helping several states and US President Joe Biden achieve goals to decarbonize the power grid and combat climate change.
But progress was slow last year, after offshore wind developers canceled power sales contracts in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey, and threatened to cancel deals in others States, due to soaring inflation, interest rate hikes and supply chain issues that have driven up project costs.
The latest approvals were part of New Jersey’s third offshore wind RFP, which targeted power generation capacity of 1,200 to 4,000 megawatts (MW). In total, the State wants to have around 11,000 MW of offshore wind energy by 2040.
Specifically, the BPU approved the Attentive Energy Two Project (1,342 MW) and the Leading Light Project (2,400 MW) as qualified offshore wind projects to receive Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificates, or ORECs. .
Attentive Energy Two is a joint venture between units of French oil company TotalEnergies and wind developer Corio Generation.
Leading Light, which is expected to begin generating electricity in 2031, is a partnership between US energy companies Invenergy and energyRe.
“The industry hasn’t disappeared, it’s moving forward,” Michael Polsky, chief executive of Invenergy, said in an interview, noting that Leading Light is the first corporate-backed U.S. offshore wind project Americans to be awarded a competitive contract.
The total impact of the two projects on residential customers’ electricity bills will be $6.84 per month, from the time these offshore wind facilities are operational and providing clean electricity to the New Jersey grid, a said the BPU in a statement.
Last October, the Danish energy company Orsted
ORSTED.CO, the world’s largest offshore wind company, has canceled two offshore wind farms off New Jersey – Ocean Winds 1 (1,100 MW) and Ocean Winds 2 (1,148 MW) – due to the galloping inflation, increasing interest rates and delays in obtaining the ships needed to construct the projects.
Orsted announced writedowns of up to $5.6 billion, largely due to the cancellation of the Ocean Winds projects.
Following Orsted’s decision, New Jersey Governor Murphy last November ordered the BPU to expedite the state’s fourth offshore wind tender, the award of projects being planned for the beginning of 2025.