Ocean Wind


Ocean Wind is a proposed utility-scale offshore wind farm to be located on the Outer Continental Shelf approximately off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is being developed by Ørsted US Offshore Wind in conjunction with Public Service Enterprise Group. Construction is planned to begin in the early 2020s; expected commissioning is in 2024. The closed Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station would provide a transmission point for energy generated by the wind farm. It will be the largest producer of wind power in New Jersey and largest offshore wind farm in the United States.

Background

In the United States, federal waters commence 3 nautical miles offshore. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management awarded leases for offshore wind sites in 2015. NJWEA South is offshore Atlantic County and Cape May County, where the ocean floor is deep. The rights were later acquired by DONG Energy, which became Ørsted, parent of Ørsted US Offshore Wind. The company was selected by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in June 2019. PSE&G later joined the project.
There is only one other utility-scale wind farm in the state, the 5-turbine Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm. Two other projects which would provide wind power to New Jersey are Garden State Offshore Energy, Offshore Delaware in WEA OC-A 482 North opposite Rehoboth Beach, also by Ørsted US Offshore Wind, and Atlantic Shores Wind Farm in Offshore New Jersey WEA OCS-A 0499 -- off the coast of Jersey Shore by EDF Renewables/Shell. Another potential WEA is Offshore New Jersey/New York on the west/south side of Hudson Canyon 21 miles offshore opposite Monmouth County.

Design, construction and staging

Turbines

s produced by GE Wind Energy will be used. The structures are tall with a rotor blade diameter of. As many as 90 will be constructed. As of 2019, they had the highest capacity of turbines being produced.

On-shore staging center

Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind is also partnering with Tradepoint Atlantic, based in Port of Baltimore, to create a 50-acre staging center for on-land assembly, storage and loading out into deep waters for projects along the East Coast.
The Port of Paulsboro could become the site for the production the monopile foundations for the turbines.

On-shore interconnection

In September 2019, Ocean Wind, with the approval of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, secured the capacity interconnection rights to bring the power generated by the wind farm on-shore at Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lacey Township, a 619-megawatt nuclear power plant which was shut down in September 2018. It can use the existing power infrastructure of the plant, after some upgrades, to connect to the regional transmission grid.

Impact on marine life and fisheries

The wind farm will be built in prime fishing areas. Its impact on fisheries industry remains unclear, though there are some concerns and recommendations.