PSEG continues to help New Jersey achieve its ambitious offshore wind goals, even though we no longer will be an investor in the Ocean Wind 1 offshore wind farm. Two dozen PSEG employees are working to make offshore wind a safe and reliable energy source that combats climate change.
Governor Phil Murphy wants the state to develop 11,000 MWs of offshore wind power by 2040. He hopes to make the state a hub for offshore wind, as it once was for pharmaceuticals. That would create thousands of well-paid manufacturing jobs to supply components to potentially dozens of projects along the East Coast.
“PSEG is working to help New Jersey become a national leader in offshore wind,” said Lathrop Craig, PSEG senior vice president and chief commercial officer. “There are many ways we can contribute to growing the industry and making offshore wind a reliable and resilient energy source that will help New Jersey improve its air quality while also preparing to electrify and decarbonize our economy, which is needed to combat climate change long term.”
PSEG remains involved in the Ocean Wind 1 project. We are supervising the construction of the onshore infrastructure that will connect the wind farm to the grid, including building two substations. The 1,100-megawatt offshore wind farm will be 15 miles off Southern New Jersey. It is expected to begin operations in 2024 and eventually generate enough electricity to power more than 500,000 homes.
Last October, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities awarded PSE&G six onshore transmission projects to help deliver electricity from offshore wind farms to New Jersey customers. The projects are spread across PSE&G’s service territory and will come online between 2027 and 2029.
PSEG remains interested in helping develop the transmission needed to reliably connect New Jersey’s offshore wind farms to the onshore grid. We look forward to participating in the second New Jersey offshore wind transmission solicitation, offering best-in-class, cost-efficient solutions, including developing a meshed, interconnected offshore grid. A multiterminal or meshed grid is similar to onshore transmission grids and offers superior reliability and resiliency. We are partnering with others on a potential offshore meshed grid research and development center, and the group has applied for federal Department of Energy grants to further the research.
In addition, the New Jersey Wind Port is being built on land PSEG is leasing to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. The 200-acre wind port is the nation’s first purpose-built offshore wind port, intended to serve offshore wind projects in New Jersey and up and down the U.S. East Coast, positioning the state as a hub for the U.S. offshore wind industry. It is located in Salem County, adjacent to PSEG’s nuclear generating site. Offshore wind and nuclear energy are keys to achieving New Jersey’s clean energy ambitions.
As a very concerned citizen of NJ and customer of PSE&G, I am vehemently opposed to the offshore wind power plants decimating our coast and its inhabitants. Although it is encouraging to hear that PSE&G is not investing in these projects, it is disturbing that PSE&G is facilitating the progress without ample study. It is reckless and irresponsible. Please reconsider your participation in the destructive technology.
Do you guys hate NJ and the Jersey Shore? Offshore wind is destroying our environment.