On September 23, 2021, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) announced that it will shortly be launching the next phase of its tenant selection process for the New Jersey Wind Port.
The Wind Port, located on the Delaware River in Lower Alloways Creek in Salem County, will be a transformative, hub-style port serving offshore wind (OSW) projects in New Jersey and up and down the U.S. East Coast.
The Port, which is due to commence construction this year, represents a new approach to economic revitalization that will spur both job creation and opportunities for businesses throughout the offshore wind supply chain.
Back on September 9th, Governor Phil Murphy led the celebration for a groundbreaking at the site of the New Jersey Wind Port. The event kicked off a new chapter for the Wind Port, a first-in-the-nation infrastructure investment that will provide a location for essential staging, assembly, and manufacturing activities related to offshore wind projects on the East Coast.
The event also included the signing of a project labor agreement (PLA) for the project and was followed by the signing of a 78-year lease between the NJEDA and PSEG for the site. The State is committed to using union labor to construct the Wind Port and intends to set a new standard for inclusion of minority and women workers and business owners.
The New Jersey Wind Port has the potential to create up to 1500 manufacturing, assembly, and operations jobs, as well as hundreds of union construction jobs in New Jersey, and projects supported by the Wind Port will drive billions of dollars in economic growth.
The NJEDA will shortly be seeking non-binding offers from OSW developers and component manufacturers on four parcels of property at the Port. Available properties include:
- Two parcels of property with the potential to be purpose-built for offshore wind marshalling, staging and final assembly of turbines; and
- Two parcels of property with the potential to be purpose-built for offshore wind turbine component manufacturing and assembly.
“The New Jersey Wind Port is a strategic economic driver that not only furthers Governor Phil Murphy’s goal of 100 percent clean energy for New Jersey by 2050, but also presents extraordinary economic potential for businesses up and down the OSW manufacturing supply chain,” said NJEDA CEO Tim Sullivan.
“Wind turbines are comprised of (sic) numerous elements, and each element in the manufacturing process represents an entry point for businesses and a need for skilled workers. These available properties offer incomparable access to opportunity in the heart of this rapidly emerging manufacturing hub,” he added, with poor grammar.
The Port is situated at the geographical center of the United States’ burgeoning OSW sector – with in excess of 38 gigawatts (“GW”) of committed and planned OSW projects along the East Coast, including 7.5 GW of committed projects off the coast of New Jersey.
Based on the current design, the Port will offer OSW industry tenants the following key features:
- Access to the Atlantic Ocean free of vertical restrictions;
- Upland acreage purpose-built for marshalling and component manufacturing;
- A wide approach channel from the main Delaware River Channel;
- A purpose-built heavy-lift wharf, comprising both delivery and installation berths; and
- Heavy-haul road connections between inland port parcels and the Wharf.
With proximity to 50 percent of current East Coast OSW development areas, and unmatched transportation connectivity to major United States and overseas cities, there is no better place to anchor and grow the nation’s OSW industry. Further information on the Port is available at: https://www.nj.gov/windport/.
Home to a high concentration of skilled labor, a well-established maritime industry and workforce, and a network of highly-regarded colleges and universities, New Jersey is ideally-placed to drive the development of the offshore wind industry in the United States.
NJEDA anticipates that certain parcels will be available for sublease from 2023.
Images courtesy of New Jersey Wind Port.
A notice for the sublease of property will be issued in coming weeks and will be available at Bidding Opportunities – NJEDA.