Ørsted’s Ocean Wind 1 project commissioning pushed back to 2026
OCEAN CITY — Ørsted announced on its web site that it is pushing back the Ocean Wind 1 commissioning until 2026, but company officials say onshore work is set to start in the next few weeks in Ocean City and offshore work at some point in 2024.
‘We have not slowed down or paused any planned project activity. Ocean Wind 1 remains on schedule for operations in 2025,
with final commissioning in the first quarter of 2026.’
– Hina Kazmi, Ocean Wind 1 program director
The Danish company behind the project to put up to 98 massive wind turbines 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic and Cape May counties reported last week that supplier delays and higher interest rates are factors expected to push back the full operation of the wind farm.
The project, which is expected to produce 1,100 megawatts of electricity, was originally scheduled to begin supplying energy late in 2024 but had been pushed back before to 2025.
Despite the delay, residents of Ocean City should see work beginning soon.
“Ocean Wind 1 will conduct site investigation work within Ocean City’s right of way on 35th Street, from Central Avenue to West Avenue, and in the county’s public right of way along Bay Avenue to Roosevelt Boulevard beginning Sept. 12,” an Ørsted spokesperson said Friday.
“Site investigation activities in Ocean City’s right of way are expected to conclude by Oct. 2 with the county’s right of way concluding approximately two weeks later,” the spokesperson added. “The work will confirm the locations of existing underground utilities while collecting soil and groundwater samples. This type of work is common practice for many types of gas, water and sewer utility projects that install mains beneath the road surface.”
Overall, this project is moving forward.
“Ocean Wind 1 continues to advance, with onshore construction beginning in the next few weeks and offshore construction expected to ramp up in 2024,” Hina Kazmi, Ocean Wind 1 program director for Ørsted, said Friday.
“We have not slowed down or paused any planned project activity. Ocean Wind 1 remains on schedule for operations in 2025, with final commissioning in the first quarter of 2026,” he said. “Further evidence of the project’s progress is visible at the operations and maintenance facility under construction in Atlantic City, to be completed in 2024, and at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal, where monopiles are being readied at the nation’s first monopile fabrication facility.”
The spokesman said Garden State residents support the project.
“Over two-thirds of New Jerseyans agree that significantly increasing the amount of offshore wind energy produced should be a priority over the next 10 years,” Kazmi continued. “Ocean Wind 1 remains committed to helping the state meet its clean energy goals, creating good-paying local jobs, providing significant economic investments in our South Jersey community and supporting our shared clean energy future.”
However, a new poll showed support in New Jersey for offshore wind farms remains in favor, but has slipped substantially from that two-thirds.
Multiple media outlets reported the Ocean Wind 1 and other projects by Ørsted were being pushed back by two years based on an earnings report from the company that helped drive its stock down, but also cited an Ørsted executive, David Hardy.
“The U.S. offshore wind market remains attractive in the long term,” Hardy, executive vice president and CEO of Region Americas at Ørsted, wrote on the company’s website, acknowledging the company does not plan to walk away from its wind farm projects off the coast of New Jersey and New York.
“We will continue to work with our stakeholders to explore all options to improve our near-term projects,” Hardy stated.
One option is for the company to seek additional federal tax credits for the project under the Inflation Reduction Act. Earlier this summer, Gov. Phil Murphy announced the state would give the company $1 billion in federal tax credits, which earlier were promised to ratepayers, to help ensure the continued viability of the project.
Ørsted is seeking as much as 40 percent federal tax credits, beyond the 30 percent it has been granted.
Protect Our Coast New Jersey, a local organization trying to stop offshore wind development, was pleased with the news but is vowing to continue to fight on because the Ocean Wind 1 project is delayed, not abandoned.
“We will continue our fight in state and federal courts,” said a group spokesman, Robin Shaffer. “If anything, Ørsted’s announcement will only intensify our activities, for it shows the positive outcomes that can result when thousands of hard-working, committed citizens get together to fight for our oceans, our shores, our livelihoods and our environment.”
The group plans a news conference and walk at the 35th Street beach at noon Sunday, Sept. 10, when POCNJ officials and guests will deliver remarks.
The 35th Street beach is where Ørsted plans to bring its transmission cables ashore from the Ocean Wind 1 farm. Those cables are to run along that street and then out Roosevelt Boulevard to Beesleys Point in Upper Township, where they would connect with the power grid.
In his weekly letter, Mayor Jay Gillian said the Ørsted announcement “fits a pattern.”
The company, he said, “reported this week that it has already invested $4 billion in its portfolio of U.S. projects and that it is facing much greater costs than anticipated. They are reportedly going to make a final investment decision on whether or not to move forward with New Jersey and other U.S. projects by the end of this year or early next year.
“The announcement fits the pattern that we have experienced all along,” Gillian continued. “In the rush to move toward the admirable goal of clean energy, there has been little credible review of the costs, benefits and impacts of this and other projects. There is too much at stake to not get this right. I will keep you updated as we learn more.”
While also mentioning the work on 35th Street, he added, “I want to remind everybody that the state Legislature voted to strip Ocean City of the authority to review this project, and Ørsted sued Ocean City when we did not immediately issue permits for the work. The court has ordered Ocean City to allow the work as of Sept. 11.”
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff