The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has given the go-ahead to New Jersey’s foremost offshore wind project, the 1,510-MW Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind. 

The approval of Atlantic Shores, which would serve 700,000 homes, boosts the state’s ambitious offshore wind plans nine months after Danish developer Ørsted abandoned two of the state’s first three projects off the New Jersey coast, Ocean Wind 1 and 2.  

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approved Atlantic Shores and Ocean Wind 2 in 2021, following the agency’s backing of Ocean Wind 1 in 2019. Ørsted’s decision not to follow through on its two projects means Atlantic Shores likely will be the state’s first offshore wind project to come online, estimated between 2027 and 2029. 

BOEM’s approval also covers a second phase of the Atlantic Shores project, with capacity of about 1,300 MW and serving about 300,000 homes. However, that also would require approval from the BPU in a future solicitation. 

U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland called the BOEM approval a “milestone” and “yet another step toward our ambitious goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore energy by 2030.”  

“Our clean energy future is now a reality. … We are addressing climate change, fostering job growth and promoting equitable economic opportunities for all communities.” 

BOEM granted the Record of Decision (RoD) to the two Phases of Atlantic Shores based upon the agency’s compilation of an environmental impact statement (EIS). The agency held four public hearings on the EIS, which the agency said resulted in several measures designed to “minimize or mitigate the potential impacts of the project, including visual impacts and potential impacts to marine life and to existing ocean uses such as fishing.” 

While the EIS concluded the project would have a “major” impact on commercial and for-hire recreational fishing, the view from the shore and on-ship traffic, it found the impact would be moderate or minor on most of the 19 categories studied. These included recreation and tourism, land use and coastal infrastructure. (See BOEM FEIS Cites ‘Major’ Impact from NJ OSW Project.) 

Atlantic Shores said in a statement the developer expects a decision on the project construction and operations plans (COPs) to be made in the fall and all reviews and permits to be completed by October. The project should be “shovel ready” by the end of 2024, the company said. 

“We recognize the significance of this milestone,” Joris Veldhoven, CEO of Atlantic Shores, said in a statement. “And we’re excited to work with our supply chain partners to continue making near-term investments and creating great-paying union jobs.” 

The Oceantic Network, which works to advance the offshore wind sector, noted that BOEM’s approval of Atlantic Shores follows the agency’s granting of COPs for Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind, both offshore New York, and New England Wind 1 and 2, off the coast of Massachusetts. Those projects, along with Atlantic Shores, will have a combined capacity of 8,200 MW, enough to power 3 million homes, the organization said. 

“BOEM’s consistent efforts to move projects through the regulatory process are pushing the offshore wind industry forward,” Sam Salustro, vice president of strategic communication at Oceantic Network, said in a statement. 

Clean Energy Future

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D), noting that Atlantic Shores ultimately could provide power for 1 million homes, said in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the approval is “bringing us one step closer to a 100% clean energy future.” 

Murphy has set a state target of installing 11 GW of OSW capacity by 2040, and the state has aggressively pursued that goal. Since the termination of Ørsted’s projects, the BPU has concluded its third solicitation with the endorsement of two new projects — the 1,341-MW Attentive Energy Two project and the Leading Light project, with two phases of 1,200 MW each. The capacity of BPU approved projects now is 5,251 MW. 

In April, the BPU opened a fourth solicitation, which will close at 5 p.m. July 10. And in May, Murphy directed the BPU to advance the opening of the fifth solicitation by 15 months, to the second quarter of 2025.  

The state also has sought to position itself as a key hub for the growing industry, spending $600 million on the New Jersey Wind Port, in South Jersey, which has heavy-lift wharfs and space for manufacturing and marshaling. The first phase is expected to open this year. 

Paulina Banasiak O’Connor, executive director of the New Jersey Offshore Wind Alliance, which represents wind developers and other sector members, called BOEM’s announcement a “critical” development. 

“As the most mature project positioned to serve New Jersey, the Atlantic Shores South project is in many ways the vanguard of New Jersey’s offshore wind industry and all the benefits our industry will bring to the state,” she said. 

Diverging Responses

Environmental groups welcomed the project’s advance. 

“The momentum for offshore wind in New Jersey is only growing as we continue to lead the region in our transition to a cleaner, greener future for our communities,” said Sierra Club New Jersey Director Anjuli Ramos-Busot. 

Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey, called the decision a “clear win for offshore wind and another step forward to making offshore wind a reality off the Jersey Shore” after the “gut punch” of Ørsted’s withdrawal. 

“Offshore wind remains the best strategy for New Jersey to generate clean, renewable energy and reduce climate pollutants from fossil fuels,” he said. “This is the strongest sign that offshore wind is back.” 

With as many as 195 turbines planned and located 8.7 miles off the New Jersey coast, the project is the closest to the shore and faces local opposition. The project plans include 10 offshore substations with subsea transmission cables potentially making landfall in Atlantic City and Sea Girt. 

Commercial fishermen fear their catch will be sharply diminished by the wind projects, and local governments, the tourist sector and residents fear a loss in the quality of life and in tourist visits due to the visibility of wind turbines. 

Bob Stern, president of Save Long Beach Island, which opposes the project, said “the decision was not unexpected,” adding that “the agency has never seriously considered any alternative to it,” referring to BOEM.

“The shore experience from Long Beach Island and nearby shores will be destroyed, not only due to the visibility of the turbine structure, but due to the difficulty of watching blades rotating, the airborne noise at the shore from the pile driving construction and the operation of the turbines, and the reduced breeze due to the extraction of wind energy by the turbines,” he said. “It will force East Coast commercial, military, and fishing vessel traffic into a narrow 11-mile wide corridor creating safety concerns for both the vessels and the whales that migrate through that same corridor.”

Anticipating the decision, Stern said in a June 28 email that the non-profit citizens group has been preparing for the approval of Atlantic Shores, and included a request for donations.
“We have created a strong technical base and intend to file a number of lawsuits against the Atlantic Shores South project soon,” the email said. “So, this fight is far from over. It is, in fact, just beginning with intensity.”