Ocean Wind 1
Ocean Wind 1 was an offshore wind energy project located approximately 13 nautical miles southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey in the Atlantic Ocean. The project aimed to construct a wind farm with a total capacity of up to 1,100 megawatts. Ocean Wind 1 was supposed to have two landfall sites: the Oyster Creek Landfall Site located in Lacey Township, New Jersey and BL England Landfall Site located in Upper Township, New Jersey. Onshore substations were planned for each point of interconnection. The project was initially expected to be commissioned in 2024.
Ocean Wind 1's development process spanned from 2015-2023. During this period, the project faced challenges, including potential disruptions to navigation, vessel traffic, and impacts on submerged cultural resources. Despite these challenges, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the project's Construction and Operations Plan in September 2023, permitting construction to begin. The wind farm was planned to comprise up to 98 Wind Turbine Generators and three offshore substations in Lease Area OCS-A 0498. Ocean Wind LLC, a subsidiary of the Danish company Ørsted, was the developer of the project. Public Service Enterprise Group held a 25% equity interest in the project from 2020 to 2023. PSEG sold their 25% equity interest in May 2023.
Ocean Wind 1 was expected to generate 4,851,489 megawatt-hours annually, meeting the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities requirements for Offshore Renewable Energy Certificates. In October 2023, Ørsted announced the cancellation of Ocean Wind 1 due to rising costs, delays, and supply chain constraints. Following the project's cancellation, Ørsted reached a $125 million settlement with the State of New Jersey, and in August 2024, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities vacated the project’s approvals, nullifying its OREC agreement.
Development Timeline
Ocean Wind 1 followed a four-phase development timeline: Early Development & Planning, Environmental Review and Permitting, Record of Decision & Approvals, and Construction & Installation. The project began with BOEM's leasing process in 2011, progressing through environmental assessments and lease divisions. Regulatory milestones included permit applications in 2019, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement in 2022, and a Final EIS in 2023, culminating in BOEM's approval of the Construction and Operations Plan in September 2023. However, in October 2023, Ørsted, the parent company of Ocean Wind LLC, announced it was terminating development of Ocean Wind 1 due to high costs and supply chain constraints. In February 2024, BOEM approved a two-year lease suspension to Ocean Wind LLC for Lease Area OCS-A 0498. During the suspension, Ocean Wind cannot conduct any activities on the lease or comply with the deadlines and schedules agreed in the COP, but Ocean Wind still needs to pay rent.| Early Development & Planning |
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| Environmental Review & Permitting | |
| Record of Decision & Approvals | |
| Construction & Installation |
Lease area
Location
Ocean Wind 1 was planned to be located on Commercial Lease OCS-A 0498, originally consisting of 160,480 acres. In March 2021, the lease area was divided into two sections as part of a reassignment process. The northern section, containing 75,525 acres, remained as Lease Area OCS-A 0498 for Ocean Wind 1. Ørsted received the southern portion, designated as Lease Area OCS-A 0532, which contained 84,955 acres. To mitigate navigation and commercial fishing concerns, a 1,500-meter buffer corridor was established between Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind and Ocean Wind. Ocean Wind 1 was planned at least 13 nautical miles offshore to reduce visual impacts.History of lease area
In 2009, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management initiated the renewable energy program, which provides a structure for regional planning and analysis, lease issuance, site assessment, and construction and operations. Also in 2009, BOEM formed the BOEM/New Jersey Renewable Energy Task Force for coordination among affected federal agencies, as well as state, local, and tribal governments through the leasing process. In 2012, BOEM published a Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for commercial wind lease issuance and site assessment activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf offshore New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. In 2014, BOEM published a Proposed Sale Notice for the area of the continental shelf that includes Lease Area OCS-A 0498 and OCS-A 0499. Then, in September 2015, BOEM published a Final Sale Notice—a formal notice that provides the terms and conditions for a lease area—for the commercial lease sale of the Wind Energy Area offshore New Jersey.On November 9, 2015, BOEM held a competitive lease sale for the Wind Energy Area offshore New Jersey that includes Lease Area OCS-A 0498 and OCS-A 0499. The auction received a total of $1,866,955 in high bids across both lease areas over seven rounds. RES America Developments, Inc. submitted the highest live bid price of $880,715, winning the southern lease area. The lease went into effect on March 1, 2016. BOEM approved the assignment of the entire lease area to Ocean Wind in May 2016 and approved a request to extend the preliminary term of the lease area to March 2018 in March 2017. The initial lease area was then divided into two separate lease areas in 2021, after Ocean Wind submitted an application for BOEM to assign the portion of Lease Area OCS-A 0498 that is not covered by the COP to Ørsted North America, Inc. After BOEM approved the request, the lease area assigned to Ørsted North America, Inc. became Lease Area OCS-A 0532. The lease operations term for OCS-A 0498 extended 25 years from the Construction and Operations Plan approval, and the first year's rent was $481,440.
In March 2021, a 75:25 joint venture with New Jersey's Public Service Enterprise Group was approved by New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. PSEG later sold its 25% of equity interest to Ørsted, the parent company of Ocean Wind LLC, granting Ørsted full ownership of Ocean Wind 1. According to PSEG Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Lathrop Craig, the decision was made after Ocean Wind 1 concluded "a better positioned investor" with an "optimized tax structure" should join the project for the benefit of the project.