New Jersey joined global offshore wind players Orsted and EEW to confirm plans for a $250m investment in a monopile foundation plant that they said represents the largest industrial commitment in the US sector so far.

Governor Phil Murphy said the facility at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal in Gloucester County will serve projects supplying the state and “the entire US offshore wind industry”.

Work will start on the plant in January ahead of production in 2023.

Murphy said as he announced the plan on Tuesday: “This is the largest industrial offshore wind investment in the United States to date and will create hundreds of high-paying jobs at a time when New Jersey’s economy has been ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Recharge revealed in 2019 how Orsted in conjunction with German fabrication specialist EEW was focusing on New Jersey for a foundation facility that will serve its 1.1GW Ocean Winds development and other regional projects.

The state has already unveiled plans for the $400m New Jersey Wind Port in Lower Alloways Creek, to provide manufacturing and assembly facilities that will underpin its ambitions to source 7.5GW of offshore wind by 2035.

The state has just closed entry for its latest offshore wind round, which will seek up to 2.4GW and is a straight fight between Orsted and the Shell-EDF Atlantic Shores joint venture.

“This announcement represents a significant milestone for the Ocean Wind project, and New Jersey’s offshore wind goals,” said David Hardy, CEO of Orsted Offshore North America. “New Jersey is poised to be a leader in the American offshore wind industry with key investments in its port infrastructure, like the Port of Paulsboro and the New Jersey Wind Port.”

New Jersey is vying with neighbouring New York as a future industrial centre for US offshore wind.

Developer Equinor is eying New York for a possible offshore wind tower plant, Recharge reported in November.

Another sign of the offshore wind supply chain’s growing momentum came last week when work started to build the $500m first offshore wind installation vessel to be compliant with the US Jones Act, which will serve an industry that has obtained commitments from mid-Atlantic and northeastern states to procure about 29GW of capacity through to 2035.

The US sector received a pre-Christmas boost this week when Congress included a 30% tax credit for the industry in a huge Covid stimulus package passed on Monday, said by analysts to bode well ahead of the presidential term of Joe Biden, who stressed a major role for wind at sea in his election campaign.

Wind

New Jersey joins Orsted and EEW for 'largest US industrial offshore wind investment'