It’s deja vu all over again as the window closes for New Jersey’s fourth offshore wind solicitation: The three developers that delivered proposals by the July 10 deadline all submitted bids to the state previously. One of the proposals contains a rebid of a project that already holds a New Jersey contract, and the other two possibly are reboots of proposals that derailed in New York.
Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind won a contract for the 1,510-MW first part of its self-named proposal in June 2021. It now is submitting both Project 1 and Project 2 — a combined 2,800-plus MW — in a single proposal.
Also submitting bids were Attentive Energy, for a project of unspecified capacity, and Community Offshore Wind, for a 1,300-MW project.
New Jersey is seeking 1.2 GW to 4.0 GW of nameplate capacity in its fourth solicitation, which it opened April 30.
The Garden State, like most other East Coast states, has ambitious goals for the emissions-free power sector starting to take shape in U.S. waters.
And like most of the other Northeastern states, New Jersey is scrambling to recover from a confluence of macroeconomic factors over the past two years that led to cancellation of more than half the contracts awarded for proposed wind farms.
In late 2023, New Jersey suffered the first and so far only outright project cancellation in the current wave of offshore wind development, when Ørsted scratched Ocean Wind 1 and 2. (See Ørsted Cancels Ocean Wind, Suspends Skipjack.)
Among New Jersey’s responses to this setback was to allow developers who had been awarded a contract in the first or second solicitation to submit a rebid for that project in the fourth solicitation, to account for rising costs.
Atlantic Shores Project 1 was the only project that still fit this definition, and the company apparently took advantage of the opportunity.
In its announcement July 10, Atlantic Shores made no mention of the fact that its proposal was partly a rebid, nor of any proposed cost increases.
Instead, it emphasized the ability of its proposal to be the state’s first mover in the offshore wind sector. It is a mature project, receiving a positive record of decision July 1 from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. (See BOEM Approves NJ’s Atlantic Shores OSW Project.) The company anticipates full state and federal permitting by the end of 2024.
Attentive Energy also announced submission of a proposal July 10, but offered limited detail.
Attentive Energy Two (1,342 MW) won a New Jersey offshore renewable energy certificate (OREC) contract in January 2024 as a result of the state’s third offshore wind solicitation.
Attentive Energy One (1,400 MW) won a provisional contract in New York in November 2023, but that contract and two others collapsed six months later, after GE Vernova halted development of the 18-MW wind turbine that was to be used. (See NY Offshore Wind Plans Implode Again.)
The end of the Attentive Energy One contract in New York was announced April 19, shortly before the start of New Jersey’s fourth solicitation.
Attentive’s lease area in the New York Bight is 11 miles closer to New Jersey than to New York.
Community Offshore Wind, 24 miles closer to New Jersey than to New York, also has a history with both states.
It submitted a proposal in New Jersey’s third solicitation in 2023, then withdrew it when it determined it could not deliver an affordable proposal under the framework of the solicitation.
It won a provisional contract for Phase 1 in New York’s third solicitation, then saw that evaporate six months later because of GE Vernova’s turbine strategy shift.
It submitted a bid for Phase 2 in New York’s fourth solicitation but was “waitlisted” in February 2024 as the state chose instead to focus on two mature projects being rebid, which could get steel in the water much sooner and help rebuild lost momentum in the state’s quest for an offshore wind sector.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities expects to decide on contracts in the fourth solicitation in December.
As of mid-July 2024, the Garden State’s portfolio of offshore wind contracts consists of Atlantic Shores Project 1, Attentive Phase 2 and the two-phase, 2,400-MW Leading Light. The Attentive and Leading Light contracts were awarded in January 2024. (See NJ Awards Contracts for 3.7 GW of OSW Projects.)
In a prepared statement, Community Offshore Wind said this latest New Jersey solicitation represents another chance to help that state’s economy and environment: “Our proposed project would generate 1.3 GW of clean wind energy and create programs to benefit communities for decades, including creating jobs for New Jersey workers and supporting new clean energy career pathways for future generations,” President Doug Perkins said. “New Jersey is well-positioned to become a hub of the U.S. offshore wind industry, and we look forward to working with our partners in Trenton and communities across the Garden State.”
In a prepared statement, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind CEO Joris Veldhoven said: “Our proposal serves to expand and enhance existing strategic partnerships while growing our portfolio of economic development initiatives across the Garden State. Working with our host community partners, we are keen to continue securing critical supply chain investments that will create great-paying union jobs, support local workforce development and contribute to economic prosperity across New Jersey.”
Atlantic Shores is a partnership of Shell New Energies US and EDF-RE Offshore Development.
Attentive is a partnership of TotalEnergies, Rise Light & Power and Corio.
Community is a partnership of RWE and National Grid Ventures.
