New Jersey Board Joins Prominent U.S. Offshore Wind Research Organization

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on Jan. 4 joined the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC), a not-for-profit public-private partnership created in 2018 to support the U.S. offshore wind industry through research projects. The participation is expected to play a key role in helping the state achieve its goal of 7,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035.

New Jersey’s membership in the NOWRDC allows the state to participate in regional research and monitoring activities and permits research into offshore wind activities, with a goal of lowering the cost of Offshore Wind. The membership also provides New Jersey a platform to collaborate with other states in coordinating scientific and technical research at the state and regional levels to address issues related to offshore wind energy project planning, construction, and operation.

The board will contribute $1 million over a four-year period to facilitate research initiatives and coordinate NOWRDC activities with the state’s Economic Development Authority and WIND Institute. At its December agenda meeting, the board approved a memorandum of agreement establishing the process to use funds contributed by the state.

Last July, the board awarded two offshore wind projects totaling nearly 2.7 gigawatts to Denmark-based Orsted A/S’ Ocean Wind II and Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind LLC, a joint venture of EDF Renewables North America and Shell New Energies US LLC. The selection, which represents the largest combined offshore wind award in the U.S., will bring the state closer to meeting its goal of 7.5 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035. The first round of solicitation resulted in the selection of Orsted in June 2019 to develop a 1.1-gigawatt wind project off the coast of Atlantic City.