Murphy administration, offshore wind developers detail transformative benefits of new projects that will advance New Jersey’s 100% clean energy goal
3,700 MW Projects Will Power Millions of Homes, Spur Billions in Economic Benefits
NEW JERSEY – The Governor’s Office of Climate Action and the Green Economy Friday joined key State agencies and stakeholders to showcase the enormous environmental and economic benefits that will be produced by New Jersey’s most recent awarding of 3,700 MW of offshore wind capacity to the Attentive Energy 2 project and Leading Light Wind, a partnership between lead developer Invenergy and co-developer energyRe.
Cabinet leaders from New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities and Economic Development Authority joined senior representatives from Attentive Energy and Leading Light Wind – the winners of the latest offshore wind solicitation – to showcase the type of skilled jobs that will be generated by the Board of Public Utilities’ recent milestone award of over 3,700 MW in clean, New Jersey-produced energy.
The event was hosted by the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters (EAS Carpenters Union) at their state-of-the-art Commercial Dive School facility in Sicklerville, where they have built an elite program that has become the go-to resource for training members from across the building trades unions for the vast work opportunities being produced by the growing offshore wind industry.
“These latest awards reaffirm New Jersey’s commitment to a strong and thriving offshore wind industry and the incredible economic and environmental benefits it will bring to our state, for both this generation and the next,” Murphy said. “Together with Atlantic Shores 1, these projects will bring us closer to achieving 100% clean energy by 2035, create thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic opportunity in our coastal communities and beyond, and guarantee that New Jerseyans have access to clean, affordable energy produced right here in our state and powered by our labor union workforce. Today, we are proud to partner with Leading Light Wind and Attentive Energy in the march towards New Jersey’s clean energy future.”
The projects are also slated to produce $6.8 billion in economic benefits to the state, including 4,350 new jobs in direct construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms, jobs in the offshore wind supply chain and in related fields.
Projects have also committed to:
- Establishment of NJ-based Operations & Maintenance (O&M) facilities;
- Marshaling of both projects at the NJ Wind Port;
- Anchor orders from a tower manufacturing facility to be constructed at the NJ Wind Port
- $164 million in funding for EEW expansion;
- Funding and support for a variety of other educational, workforce development, and innovation initiatives, including several with an environmental justice focus, through NJ-based educational and non-profit organizations, and over $60 million for environmental and fisheries initiatives combined; and
- $94 million commitment for direct assistance to 200,000 low-income, energy-burdened households by reducing their monthly electricity bill increase by 50% to support an equitable transition – a key program from Leading Light Wind.
“Today we demonstrate once again that New Jersey remains a growing – and nation-leading – offshore wind hub,” said New Jersey Board of Public Utilities President Christine Guhl-Sadovy. “In addition to producing significant environmental and economic impacts, the projects approved by the Board last month will generate thousands of good-paying union jobs as we continue our determined pursuit of a 100% clean energy economy by 2035.”
These projects, in addition to the state’s existing Atlantic Shores 1 project, will produce enough clean energy to power nearly two million homes, and will reach commercial development between 2030 and 2032. More information can be found at Office of Climate Action and the Green Economy – (nj.gov).
