Danish developer Orsted has signed a deal for US energy company Public Service Enterprise Group’s (PSEG) 25% stake in the 1.1GW Ocean Wind 1 project off the coast of the state of New Jersey.

The Copenhagen-headquartered utility will own 100% of the project once the transaction is complete, expected in the first half of the year. PSGE will continue to support onshore infrastructure construction for the giant development, located some 24km (15 miles) offshore in the Atlantic Ocean.

“PSEG has been a valuable partner as we’ve advanced Ocean Wind 1 to this point, and as we’ve successfully advanced our offshore wind vision in the US,” Orsted Americas region chief executive David Hardy said.

“With a well-established presence in the US, we’re confident in our ability to drive the project forward with commercial operations beginning as planned.”

Orsted expects first power from the array to be fed into the grid at the end of 2024, with full commissioning seen the following year.

Orsted operates America’s first offshore wind farm, the 30MW Block Island pilot array off the state of Rhode Island, and has some 5GW in sea-based development projects in the US. The utility also has 5GW in onshore wind, solar, storage and e-fuel capacity across the US.

PSGE chief commercial officer Lathrop Craig said it had become clear that it was better for his group to step aside and allow a “better positioned investor to join the project, so that it can proceed with an optimised tax structure”.

“While this was a difficult decision, it was driven by the best interests of the project and New Jersey’s offshore wind goals. PSEG will continue to actively support offshore wind in [the state] and the region.”