The developer of a proposed offshore wind project in New Jersey has signed an agreement to employ union workers in the project’s construction and operation.

The memorandum of understanding between Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind and the unions could create hundreds of temporary and permanent jobs, said Julia Ofman, a spokesperson for the company, which is a joint venture between affiliates of the Anglo/Dutch oil giant Shell and France’s EDF.

Atlantic Shores is competing with Denmark-based Ørsted in the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ second OSW solicitation, which is seeking 1,200 to 2,400 MW. (See New Jersey BPU OKs 2nd Offshore Wind Solicitation.) The BPU expects to announce the winner in the second quarter, with commercial operation set for 2027.

In 2019, the BPU selected Ørsted’s 1,100-MW Ocean Wind project in its first solicitation. Construction of Ocean Wind, 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City, is expected to begin next year, with commercial operation in 2024. The BPU says Ocean Wind will generate $1.17 billion in economic benefits for the Garden State and create more than 15,000 jobs over the 20-year life of the project.

Ørsted said its bid in the second solicitation, for what it’s calling Ocean Wind 2, included “continued engagement with local unions and support for efforts to create a well-trained offshore wind workforce.”

Asked for an update, the company noted its November announcement of an MOU with North America’s Building Trades Unions covering all Ørsted projects under development and any future projects on the Eastern Seaboard.

“We’ve made a long-term commitment to building our portfolio of projects, both onshore and offshore, with union labor,” the company said in a statement to RTO Insider. “We’re working with unions, at both the national and local level, to develop workforce training programs that will prepare their members for the robust opportunity that offshore wind presents. Perhaps most importantly, all Ørsted projects will be constructed under collectively bargained labor agreements, inclusive of all trades necessary for both onshore and overwater construction scopes.”

Atlantic Shores holds a 183,353-acre lease area (OCS-0499) about eight miles off the coast of Atlantic City, with capacity for 2,500 MW of OSW. It is north of Ørsted’s 160,480-acre lease area (OCS-0498).

The six unions included in the MOU with Atlantic Shores are Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters; Laborers’ International Union of North America; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Locals 456, 400 and 351; International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825; Ironworkers International; and the Eastern Millwright Regional Council.

Atlantic Shores said the MOU “is the strongest commitment to date by a United States offshore wind developer to train local residents and tradespeople and use union labor and employers wherever possible.”

“Union labor helped to build New Jersey, and if our bid is selected, union labor will be central to building its renewable energy infrastructure and sustainable future,” Joris Veldhoven, commercial director at Atlantic Shores, said in a press release.

The agreement includes a commitment to create OSW training and apprenticeship programs and to “further integrate union workers” into the OSW workforce by encouraging suppliers and contractors to sign labor agreements.

Atlantic Shores also pledged in its bid to fund clean energy start-ups in the Minority & Women Owned Business Incubator at the Rutgers EcoComplex in Bordentown, N.J. It will also back 30 yearly scholarships for Rowan College at Burlington County’s certificate programs in Energy Industry Fundamentals and Transportation, Logistics and Distribution/Supply Chain, as well as training for entry-level manufacturing machinists.

According to the research firm Rystad Energy, demand for OSW employees will triple by the end of the decade, surging to 868,000 full-time jobs from an estimated 297,000 in 2020. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says wind turbine technician jobs are expected to grow 61% through 2029 – faster than any other job category. The jobs paid a median annual wage of $52,910 in May 2019.

New Jersey has targeted procurement of 7,500 MW of OSW in the next 15 years as part of its goal to reach 100% clean energy by 2050. The BPU plans to open a third solicitation for at least 1,200 MW of OSW capacity in the third quarter of 2022. (See NJ Sets Schedule for OSW Procurements.)