The state Board of Public Utilities has stayed its January order that awarded a contract for a wind farm 40 miles off the New jersey coast until December, a move that likely will push back the project’s construction schedule.
The January award was made to Leading Light Wind, whose project was expected to generate up to 2,400 megawatts of electricity. It was originally scheduled for construction beginning in 2028 and to have turbines operating in 2031.
But Leading Light has told New Jersey officials that it is having a hard time finding a firm to manufacture its turbines.
Three suppliers have all failed to meet Leading Light’s requirements and schedule, including GE Vernova, which was involved in a wind turbine blade failure in Massachusetts in July. GE Vernova has now announced it will resize its operations “into a smaller, leaner, and more profitable business.”
The two other suppliers each were unsuitable for different reasons, including substantial increases in cost.
Problems with turbine suppliers were evident within weeks of Leading Light’s January award. What the stay allows, according to a company statement, is time for “continued discussions with the BPU and supply chain partners regarding industrywide market shifts.”
While the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel, a state agency tasked with advocating for consumers, submitted comments of “non-opposition” to the stay, the agency did express concern that post-award modifications to BPU orders could “undermine the competitive solicitation process that is meant to drive down costs for ratepayers.”
The BPU, which issued its stay for Leading Light on Sept. 25, had in January made two awards for offshore wind projects in the Garden State. In addition to Leading Light’s project, the BPU approved that of Attentive Energy, which plans to develop 1,342 megawatts of capacity.
The awards were the result of an accelerated solicitation process intended to play catchup with Gov. Phil Murphy’s ambitious goals for offshore wind after the Orsted company’s withdrawal of its Ocean Wind I and II projects in October 2023.
BPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy said at the time of the January awards, “These two projects will help cement New Jersey’s position as an offshore wind leader and bring clean energy and economic benefits to our state.”
“In spite of some setbacks, we’re on track. If anything, this solicitation award shows that we’re moving full steam ahead.”
Leading Light Wind is a partnership of Invenergy, a Chicago-based American firm, and New York-based energyRe.
Meanwhile, the BPU has yet to decide on the Atlantic Shores wind farm developer’s “rebid” of its two offshore projects. Atlantic Shores South is set to be located 10 miles off the New Jersey coast, near Brigantine.
Atlantic Shores has key federal approvals in hand for a two-phase project, but the wind farm developer rebid its project during the BPU’s fourth solicitation.
The rebid, according to Atlantic Shores CEO Joris Veldhoven, “provides a more resilient, competitive, and sustainable path to anchoring New Jersey’s thriving offshore wind industry.”
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
