Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
TRENTON -- Today the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has approved proposals from Orsted for 1100MW of offshore wind. This solicitation award is part of Governor Murphy’s Executive Order No. 8. The order sets a goal of providing 3,500 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030 with at least 1,100 megawatts to be procured as soon as possible.
Once built, the 1100MW project would power an estimated 875,000 homes and reduce Co2 emissions in the state by close to 3 million metric tons annually.
“Today is a great win for wind and a great day for the environment. This is a real accomplishment in making wind power a reality off the coast of New Jersey. This is the largest procurement in the country to date, making the state a national leader in offshore wind. Offshore wind will move us forward when it comes to clean energy and green jobs. It is one of the most reliable and cost-effective ways to reduce greenhouse gases and get renewable energy to scale,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.
“We thank Governor Murphy and the BPU for keeping their commitment and getting this done. We have been working on getting offshore wind for 15 years and it is thrilling that it is finally happening. Now the BPU needs to move quickly to make sure this gets the final approval it needs so that we can start building. The BPU also needs to move quickly on the other two rounds of solicitations.”
Orsted also holds a lease off the coast of Atlantic City, which it says is capable of supporting 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind development.
A recent E2 report found that building one average offshore wind farm that produces 352MW, can create 4,313 jobs, $278.9 million in wages, and $702 million to a state’s economy.
“Offshore wind will help us create over 4,000 jobs in a variety of fields including construction and operation. More importantly, building our wind infrastructure will help prevent unnecessary dirty fossil fuel plants and pipelines from being built,” said Tittel. “New Jersey has enough potential offshore wind to meet over half of our electrical needs. Trump wants to drill off our coast, but New Jersey chose windmills off our coast. Our beaches are smoke free and so should our energy.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.