New Jersey wants 3.5GW of offshore wind by 2030

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed an executive order calling for 3.5GW of offshore wind by 2030.

The state’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU) will launch a tender for 1.1GW, though a date has not been set.

New Jersey will also engage with neighbouring states, such as New York, to explore the potential benefits of regional collaboration.

“We cannot allow for stagnation in this growing sector of our energy economy and we cannot lose sight of the tremendous opportunity for offshore wind at the Jersey Shore,” Mr Murphy said.

“With this executive order, we begin the process of making New Jersey a leader in offshore wind, a critical step toward achieving our clean energy goals.”

The Offshore Windy Economic Development Act (OWEDA) authorised the New Jersey BPU to craft an Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Credit program (OREC).

Under the executive order, the BPU will approve developers’ financial plans and launch the 1.1GW solicitation.

Ørsted contracted Fugro to survey two sites with potential wind power capacities of up to 1GW – one off the coast of Massachusetts and the other off the coast of New Jersey. It will report back this month.