The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities adopted a proposed rule establishing offshore wind renewable energy certificates or ORECs detailing a process to fund the state’s offshore wind program and flow back revenue to ratepayers, according to a Dec. 18 press release. The industry has gained momentum under Democratic Governor Phil Murphy who seeks to put the state on a path to securing 3.5 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030.

In September 2018, New Jersey launched the largest single-state solicitation for 1.1 gigawatts of offshore wind. The board accepted applications through Dec. 28 and plans to review them by July 1, 2019, to allow enough time for developers to qualify for the federal tax credits scheduled to expire at the end of 2019.

In a related move, the board denied the 25-megawatt Nautilus Offshore Wind pilot proposed by EDF Renewable Energy Inc. and Fishermen’s Energy of New Jersey LLC citing inability to demonstrate economic and environmental benefits required to commit ratepayer funds.

U.S. offshore wind industry is picking up pace as eastern states are setting aggressive wind energy procurement goals. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut recently contracted for offshore wind capacity totaling 1.4 gigawatts.