The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has received a permit application from Orsted Ocean Wind to construct near-shore and onshore components associated with the development of a commercial-scale, offshore wind energy facility within Lease Area OCS-0498 off the coast of New Jersey. The application is administratively complete as of September 21, 2022. The department’s file number for the application is 0000-21-0008.2 LUP220001.
The project includes up to 98 wind turbine generators, inter-array cables, up to three offshore substations, two onshore substations, and two transmission cables making landfall in Ocean County, N.J., and Cape May County, N.J. The project will be located in Berkeley, Ocean and Lacey Townships within Ocean County, and in Ocean City and Upper Township within Cape May County. The permit application is requesting approval of the following permits: Coastal Area Facility Review Act (CAFRA) Individual Permit, Waterfront Development Individual Permit (in-water), Coastal Wetlands permit, Freshwater Wetlands Individual Permit, Flood Hazard Area Individual Permit and Flood Hazard Area Verification.
The project would contribute to New Jersey’s goal of 7.5 GW of offshore wind energy generation by 2035 as outlined in New Jersey’s Governor’s Executive Order No. 92, issued on November 19, 2019. Further, the project is intended to fulfill the New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU) September 20, 2018, solicitation for 1,100 MW of offshore wind that was awarded to Ocean Wind, via the New Jersey BPU on June 21, 2019 (BPU Docket No. QO18121289).
