EDF unveils NJ offshore wind project, following Nautilus rejection

EDF Renewables North America and Shell New Energies US LLC announced Wednesday they will be partnering to form a massive 2,500-megawatt wind project on an 183,353-acre site, eight miles off the coast of Atlantic City called Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind LLC.EDF Renewables North America and Shell New Energies US LLC announced Wednesday they will be partnering to form a massive 2,500-megawatt wind project on an 183,353-acre site, eight miles off the coast of Atlantic City called Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind LLC.

The move comes a day after the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities rejected EDF Renewables’ much smaller proposal—the 25 megawatt project Nautilus Offshore Wind LLC, 2.8 miles off the coast of Atlantic City—citing high costs to ratepayers and questionable economic benefits.

EDF Renewables planned to jointly administer Nautilus alongside Fishermen’s Energy.

Shell and EDF will lease the site from Baltimore-based U.S. Wind, which also has properties off the coasts of Maryland and South Carolina.

“As the costs of offshore wind are declining, the U.S. offshore wind industry is quickly advancing with strong federal and state support,” EDF President and CEO Tristan Grimbert said in a prepared statement. “The industry is well-positioned to meaningfully contribute to the New York and New Jersey economies through employment and supply chain opportunities.”  

Shell has five offshore wind projects in North America and another in Europe.

“Gaining access to this acreage in New Jersey complements our successful entry to Massachusetts and our existing renewable generation business,” Dorine Bosman, vice president Shell Wind Development, said in a statement.

“Building on the strength of our brand and global presence allows us to continue providing our customers with more and cleaner energy,” Bosman added.

Part of the Murphy administration’s clean energy goals are for the state to have an offshore wind capacity of 3,500 megawatts. The BPU is currently hashing out a 1,100-megawatt project and plans to roll out two 1,200-megawatt projects, one in 2020 and another in 2022.

Gov. Phil Murphy, in the BPU’s Tuesday statement, said that the rejection of Nautilus’ bid actually demonstrates his “administration’s focus on developing a robust offshore wind market.”

Murphy ultimately wants the state to be 100 percent reliant on clean and renewable energy by 2050.