Wind farm’s benefits could blow across region

Funding available to boost small-business development in supply chain

By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff

Funding is available for small businesses in southern New Jersey to get in on the ocean floor of the wind-energy industry.

A group of business leaders gathered online Wednesday, Feb. 17, with representatives of Ørsted and the Pro-NJ Grantor Trust to learn about the funding and how local entrepreneurs can take advantage of the program.

In 2019, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved a project by Danish wind-energy giant Ørsted to build the first utility-scale offshore wind farm off the coast of southern New Jersey. 

Dubbed Ocean Wind, the project will include up to 99 turbines 15 miles offshore generating 1,100 megawatts (MV) able to power 500,000 homes. The farm is expected to be fully operational by 2024. 

The state has set a goal of 7,500 MW of offshore wind energy to power 3.2 million homes by 2035.

Ørsted established the Pro-NJ Grantor Trust — a $15 million fund aimed at ensuring that the state’s offshore wind industry is developed in a sustainable and inclusive way — through which it is providing funds to small, minority-owned and women-owned businesses to facilitate entry into the offshore wind industry.

Goals include supporting the development of an offshore wind energy supply chain and workforce, advancing port development for offshore wind energy-related uses and supporting the development of coastal resiliency, coastal transportation and grid reliability.

The trust will also provide funding for infrastructure resiliency improvements critical to the coastal communities in Atlantic, Ocean and Cape May counties.

The seminar was presented by the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce and the Southern Ocean Chamber of Commerce. 

Those in attendance included Vicki Clark, president of the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce; Michael Chait, president of the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce; and Lori Pepenella, CEO of the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce and one of the three trustees.

Others taking part in the presentation were Vince Maione, director of New Jersey market affairs for Ørsted, and Julia Kortrey, offshore wind project officer at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA).  

Oversight of the trust is provided by three trustees representing Cape May, Atlantic and Ocean counties: attorney Beverly McCall, retired organizational development professional Belinda Manning and Pepenella.

Pepenella discussed the trust’s origin, goals and steps to apply. 

She said the trust offers grants ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 to businesses seeking to enter the offshore wind supply chain during the first phase of offshore wind development, allowing them to make early investments and benefit from the emerging industry, as well as projects developed elsewhere along the East Coast. The trust also will support the development of offshore wind infrastructure for those businesses.

The trust fund was established following the selection of Ocean Wind, the Ørsted and PSEG offshore wind farm project, by the BPU in 2019 with the goal of ensuring that the industry is developed in a sustainable and inclusive way.  

The following list represents some of the fields the trust will fund:

• Onshore and offshore light logistics and services 

• Marine vessel supply and maintenance 

• Aviation supply and maintenance 

• Buildings — construction and repair 

• Professional services (communications, environmental/permitting, engineering) 

• Turbine blade inspection and service 

• Fuel service and supply 

• Network/wireless communications supply, service and repair 

• Workforce training, trade/safety

• Cleaning and janitorial 

• Food service and catering 

• Onshore and offshore surveys 

• Project and risk management 

• Health and safety equipment and clothing 

• Marine clothing/equipment supply 

Pepenella called the seminar “an exciting opportunity to find out how businesses can take advantage of grant opportunities to expand in the new industry in Cape May, Atlantic and southern Ocean counties.”

Maione explained that Ørsted is the global leader in offshore wind production.

“We are honored to be bestowed upon us the honor and burden of building the first offshore renewable wind turbine project in New Jersey,” he said.

Maione said the company has built turbines currently generating 6.8 GW of energy with 3.1 GW under construction. That includes 1,500 turbines spinning at 26 offshore wind farms.

He said the industry started in Europe, slowly migrated to Asia and now is coming to North America.

“We have a tremendous history of building — the first to build a wind farm, the first to build the largest farm and the first to build a utility-scale project,” Maione said.

The company acquired a lease area from the federal Department of the Interior where the turbines will be constructed. It stretches from 8 miles to 25 miles into the Atlantic, but the project will be built 15 miles from shore with the turbines being about 1 mile apart.

“We are very excited about benefits that are going to come to New Jersey residents in Ocean, Atlantic and Cape May counties,” Maione said, noting Ørsted would work in collaboration with North American building trades unions.

Beyond the trust, the project will have economic benefits around the region.

Gov. Phil Murphy announced Dec. 21, 2020, that Ørsted, in conjunction with Germany-based EEW, would make a $250 million investment in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility to build steel components, known as monopiles, for offshore wind turbines that will serve the entire United States offshore wind industry. 

The facility, which will be located at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal in Gloucester County, is the largest industrial offshore wind investment in the United States to date and will create more than 500 high-paying jobs at full build out. Construction was expected to begin in January, with production beginning in 2023.

In June 2020, Murphy announced plans to develop the New Jersey Wind Port in Lower Alloways Creek, 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 development of the New Jersey Wind Port, together with the construction of the new manufacturing facility at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal, is a monumental step forward in solidifying New Jersey as the country’s leader in offshore wind and clean energy procurement, according to the news release.

“Developing New Jersey’s offshore wind capabilities has been a key priority of my administration since taking office in 2018,” Murphy said. “Offshore wind is a once-in-a-generation opportunity that allows us to protect our environment while significantly expanding and securing the state’s economy for the immediate and long term.”

Pepenella said the trust has created a registry for those interested in participating in the program to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI), with a deadline of March 5. Interested parties should visit pronjtrust.org and download the Request for Expressions of Interest to learn more on how to apply. Once completed, the EOI must be submitted to info@pronjtrust.org.

Clark said the webinar was the first time she had seen any details on the program.

“I thought that seeing the types of businesses that are available for the grant program was very encouraging, because I think there are a number of businesses in Cape May County that can benefit from this grant opportunity,” she said, providing an example of a business that may benefit.

“If you are a food service provider and you provide service to any business that’s in the supply chain for the wind energy, then you would qualify for the grant program,” Clark said. “Just that kind of information really was very valuable as to who might qualify for the program.”

She said the program was recorded and would be available on the chamber’s YouTube channel.

“We try to be an avenue of information for what’s happening because if there’s an opportunity for businesses or individuals to get some of these jobs and these contracts that they are talking about with the industry in our area, then we would like to help provide that information,” Clark said.