Wind Farm Reps Visit

STONE HARBOR – On Nov. 6 representatives of Orsted, a Danish wind farm company, visited the Stone Harbor Borough Council work session.
Representatives characterized the visit as a “good neighbor” call since the company is embarking on the development of an offshore wind farm in federal waters off Atlantic City.
Orsted, formerly Dong Energy, is a leading company in the European sector.  Its recent $510 million acquisition of Deepwater Wind, based in Amagansett, N.Y., makes it a major player in the market for offshore wind energy.
The companies combined have over 8 gigawatts in projects under development on the East Coast.
The representatives said that Orsted expects to begin construction off Atlantic City by 2020. 
Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour told the council that the acquisition of Deepwater Wind means that Orsted will also hold a lease for wind farm development 17 miles off the coast of Cape May Point. “That makes this of much more interest to this council,” Davies-Dunhour added.
The State of New Jersey is supporting the development of wind energy projects off the state’s 127-mile coastline with a goal of generating 3,500 megawatts by 2030. One megawatt of energy is roughly the equivalent of the energy used by 330 homes in an hour.
Offshore wind farm development is in its early stages in the United States, but growth in the sector is ballooning. Recent acquisitions by European companies mean that most of the planned projects in the U.S. are under European direction, often through American subsidiaries.
Orsted has been developing offshore wind farms in Europe for 25 years. European nations as a whole have installed over 16,000 megawatts of wind energy capacity making Europe a world leader in the technology, the spokesman said.
The company’s representatives stated that they are very sensitive to the fact that they share the waterways with other stakeholders, mentioning fishermen, shipping companies and recreational boaters. They noted that the Atlantic City project should generate 1,000 jobs.
The development of offshore wind farms is an issue that will require attention by local governing bodies even though municipalities will have little control over events. New Jersey is poised to move into the forefront of states in the development and implementation of the technology.
In September the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities voted unanimously to open a solicitation for 1.1 megawatts of offshore wind capacity. Thus far that represents the largest single state solicitation in the country.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.