BPU Moves Forward with Offshore Wind Plan
SNJDC Afternoon Break July 2, 2018
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities chose a firm Friday to help it create an Offshore Wind Strategic Plan, but will not announce the name of the firm until the Department of Treasury issues a contract, a spokesman said.
The BPU will hold a public hearing 10 a.m. July 19 near Trenton on its plans to quickly solicit 1,100 megawatts of offshore wind capacity.
The board called the strategic plan "a chief component of Governor Murphy's Executive Order No. 8, which sets a goal of providing 3,500 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030," in a news release.
The BPU also must implement a renewable energy credit program, through which ratepayers will fund the development of wind power. And it must quickly solicit for projects to generate 1,100 megawatts of electric power.
Orsted North America holds a lease to develop Ocean Wind, a project with the potential to generate 1,000 megawatts of offshore wind about 10 miles off Atlantic City. It is on track to open between 2020 and 2025 once renewable energy credits are in place.