Green Light for Atlantic Shores South offshore wind projects means renewable power for more than 1 million homes

Trenton – The Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced that they had officially approved the Atlantic Shores South project, which will produce up to 2,800 megawatts of clean, renewable energy from New Jersey’s first offshore wind project.

The project is the ninth large off-shore wind project to get approved by BOEM, and there are multiple utility scale projects that are operational off the coasts of New York and Massachusetts, and projects have been approved up and down the Atlantic seaboard. BOEM, under the Biden Administration, has now approved 13,000+ megawatts of offshore wind energy – enough to power nearly 5 million homes.

The Atlantic Shores South project would be located off the coast of Atlantic County, starting close to nine miles to the coastline. The barrier islands of the Jersey Shore that are increasingly vulnerable to sea-level rise and storm surges – Rutgers University estimates that sea level rise at the Shore with current carbon emissions scenarios could reach up to 2 feet by 2050 and 6 feet by 2100. The power from the turbines would connect to the regional PJM electric grid via transmission lines and substations in southern Monmouth and Atlantic Counties.  The project previously received approval for its Environmental Impact Statement from BOEM. Project construction would likely take the duration of this decade but could start as soon as early next year.

Environment New Jersey Director Doug O’Malley released the following statement in response to the BOEM decision:

“This is a clear win for offshore wind and another step forward to making offshore wind a reality off the Jersey Shore. Offshore wind remains our best solution to power our economy with clean, renewable energy and reduce climate pollution.

On the cusp of a historic heat wave, there is no better week for the federal government to give a green light to the Atlantic Shores offshore wind project. Every year without offshore wind providing power to our electric grid is another year we are overly dependent on fossil fuels to power our electric grid. It’s time to declare independence from dirty, polluting fossil fuels and the success of other offshore projects in the Atlantic and the more than 5,400 turbines in Europe should lead the way.

The Biden Administration kick-started offshore wind with its commitment to deploy 30 gigawatts by 2030 of offshore wind and this is another step forward for the Biden Administration’s commitment to offshore wind. These actions are buttressed by the leadership of the NJ Board of Public Utilities in creating clear offshore wind solicitation schedules and a 11-gigawatt offshore wind by 2040.

Offshore wind remains the best strategy for New Jersey to generate clean, renewable energy and reduce climate pollutants from fossil fuels. Last year was the warmest year on record, and as other states have constructed offshore wind, New Jersey should move forward with offshore wind – which is our best strategy to combat climate change.

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