Project Background

In 2018, Governor Phil Murphy signed an Executive Order directing the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to fully implement the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act of 2010 (OWEDA) and committed New Jersey to reaching 3,500 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.

In an effort to reach what was at the time the largest state offshore wind goal in America, the BPU solicited applications for the first 1,100 MW of offshore wind at the end of 2018.

In June of 2019, Ocean Wind 1 was awarded the historic 1,100 MW project.

Evaluation criteria included offshore wind renewable energy certificates (OREC) purchase price, economic impact, ratepayer impact, environmental impact, the strength of guarantees for economic impact, and the likelihood of successful commercial operation. The BPU recognized that Ocean Wind 1 would contribute significantly to New Jersey’s economy, would combat climate change, provide added reliability to the transmission network, and did so at the lowest reasonable cost and risk.

Of critical importance in its application, Ocean Wind 1 proposed the Pro-NJ Grantor Trust which aims to:

• Enable or facilitate New Jersey-based minority-owned business enterprises and women-owned business enterprises or small businesses entry to the offshore wind industry;
• Support the development of an offshore wind energy supply chain and workforce in New Jersey;
• Advance New Jersey port development for offshore wind energy related uses; and
• Support the development of coastal resiliency, coastal transportation, and grid reliability in New Jersey.

Through the awarding of grants, the Trust will support businesses seeking to enter the offshore wind supply chain during the first phase of offshore wind development, allowing them to make early investments and benefit from New Jersey’s emerging offshore wind industry, as well as projects developed elsewhere along the East Coast. The Trust will also support the development of offshore wind infrastructure for those businesses.