Still unable to find builders, New Jersey’s offshore wind project faces second delay

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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – A New Jersey offshore wind project is facing a second delay, saying it still can’t find a contractor to build critical turbines in the latest wave of unrest to engulf the industry.

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Leading Light Wind had already received one stop on its project from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, which acknowledged the difficulty the project had in finding a manufacturer of blades to spin to generate electricity.

But that break ended on Dec. 20. The previous day, Leading Light asked the board for more accommodation, this time until May 20.

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It did not specify the inability to find a blade manufacturer as the reason for requiring the second delay, but its latest filing said, “The offshore wind turbine market continues to experience significant price volatility and the company has not yet found a solution to that. wavering.”

The company did not respond to questions Monday and Tuesday about whether the blade maker is at the heart of the second request.

“This additional time will allow us to continue to address ongoing market changes and supply chain challenges, as we work to develop this important New Jersey project,” Wes Jacobs, project director, said in a statement.

The board could not estimate when it might consider the request.

The project, from Chicago-based Invenergy and New York-based energyRE, will be built 65 kilometers from Long Beach Island and will contain 100 wind turbines, enough to power one million homes.

Leading Light is one of two projects the state utility board selected in January 2024. But just three weeks after the approval, one of the three major turbine manufacturers, GE Vernova, said they would not build the type of turbine Invenergy planned for use in the project. , according to a public report.

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A turbine made by manufacturer Vestas was deemed unsuitable for the project, and the remaining manufacturer, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, told Invenergy in June that it was increasing the cost of its turbine, Invenergy said.

Invenergy said it has invested millions of dollars in the project and is still committed to it. The project is to pay $105 million in structural costs to build monopiles, tower-like foundations for wind turbines, in Paulsboro.

Opponents of offshore wind are holding up the new bid as further evidence that the industry is not economically viable, especially with Donald Trump, an opponent of offshore wind, soon to return to the White House.

“We can come to one logical conclusion: the Trump administration threatens the health of the offshore wind industry, namely, more government subsidies and less regulation,” the group Protect Our Coast NJ said in a statement.

There are currently two other offshore wind projects previously approved in New Jersey.

Attentive Energy Two will be located 42 miles (67 km) from Seaside Heights and will not be visible from the coast. It is a joint venture between Paris-based TotalEnergies and London-based Corio Generation and will have power over 650,000 homes.

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Atlantic Shores, a joint venture between Shell New Energies US LLC and EDF-RE Offshore Development LLC, will generate enough energy to power 700,000 homes. The federal government says the project will be about 8.7 miles (14 kilometers) from the coast at its closest point. The company has previously said that the closest turbines would be at least 12.8 miles (20 kilometers) from shore.

Some observers say it may not be easy to completely block the industry, especially projects that are already operational or have received the necessary government approvals.

Paulina O’Connor, executive director of the New Jersey Offshore Wind Alliance, said the future of the industry is promising.

“There is no shortage of challenges to developing new industry through market-wide shifts, but the foundations of offshore wind in New Jersey remain strong,” he said.

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Follow Wayne Parry on X at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC

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