New Jersey’s third offshore wind solicitation drew proposals from four developers, including two that would put turbines much farther out to sea than earlier projects that have triggered opposition over their visual impact.

The state’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU) did not identify the bidders that hit Friday’s deadline, saying details would not be released until early in 2024, when the winners are announced.

However, three developers disclosed that they submitted bids, including Leading Light Wind, a partnership between New York-based energyRe and Chicago-based Invenergy, which proposed a 2.4-GW project for a site 40 miles off the coast, which would power up to 1 million homes.

Community Offshore Wind, a joint venture between RWE and National Grid Ventures, said it submitted a 1.3-GW proposal, enough to power 500,000 homes. The project would be 37 miles from the shore, Doug Perkins, the venture’s president, said.

A third bidder, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, a joint venture between Shell New Energies US and EDF-RE Offshore Development, did not disclose the size or location of its project.

The bids come as OSW developers off the Atlantic coast have expressed concerns about the impact of rising costs on the viability of projects.

Gov. Phil Murphy (D) on July 10 signed a bill that allowed Ørsted to reap the benefit from federal OSW tax credits, instead of the state, after the developer said it needed the credits to complete its Ocean Wind 1 project approved in 2019. After Murphy backed the change, Atlantic Shores said the state should enact an “industry-wide solution, one that stabilizes all current projects,” including Atlantic Shores. (See Murphy Signs OSW Tax Credit Bill.)

New Jobs, Sourcing Options

The state awarded its first OSW contracts to the 1,100-MW Ocean Wind 1 project in 2019, followed by the selection of the 1,148-MW Ocean Wind 2 and the 1,510-MW Atlantic Shores projects in 2021. All three projects are located about 10 to 15 miles from the shore, prompting opposition from residents and businesses who fear the visible turbines will ruin the ocean view and deter tourists.

New Jersey is seeking to build 11 GW of offshore wind by 2040. With 3,758 MW already approved in the first two solicitations, the third solicitation could significantly expand that capacity. The solicitation guidance document sought projects totaling 1.2 GW to 4 GW, adding that the BPU may award projects above or below the target. (See NJ Opens Third OSW Solicitation Seeking 4 GW+.)

Opposition to OSW has grown in recent months, in part fueled by a series of whale deaths along the shore that project opponents suggest could be tied to preliminary undersea mapping work, although state and federal investigators have found no connection. But commercial fishing and tourism interests also oppose the projects, as do some local governments. (See Lawsuits Mount over NJ OSW Projects as Opposition Digs in.)

Bidding developers generally did not address those issues, but focused on the benefits, including job creation, their intent to source materials and services in New Jersey and greenhouse gas reduction benefits.

Community Offshore Wind said its project would leverage “RWE’s experience as the second-largest offshore wind developer in the world and National Grid’s expertise as a global leader in transmission infrastructure.”

The company also is developing a 3-GW project in the New York Bight that will power more than one million homes, which it obtained in a February 2022 auction for a lease area of 126,000 acres.

Leading Light Wind’s proposal includes a 253-MW advanced energy storage facility. The partnership is developing a 2,100-MW project on 84,000 acres in the New York Bight that will serve 800,000 homes. energyRe is an energy company with onshore and offshore wind, as well as solar and storage interests and offices in New York, Houston and Charleston. Invenergy is a global energy company, with a portfolio that includes clean energy.

The two developers are working with New York Power Authority on the Clean Path NY project, a 175-mile, 1,300-MW underground HVDC transmission line. Leading Light Wind in January submitted a bid to New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in the state’s third solicitation for a 2,100-MW offshore wind project. (See NYSERDA: 3rd OSW Solicitation Breaks Record.)

Atlantic Shores, whose New Jersey project is presently the largest planned in the state, said in a release that its latest bid was the “culmination of over four years of dedicated planning and research.” That experience would enable the developer to “deliver the most economically, environmentally and socially responsible renewable energy solution for New Jersey,” Atlantic Shores CEO Joris Veldhoven said.

Atlantic Shores also is developing a project in the New York Bight, having won a bid to build a 924-MW project. (See Fierce Bidding Pushes NY Bight Auction to $4.37 Billion.)