During last week’s meeting, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority board approved the purchase of a 109.4-acre property, setting the stage for the planned expansion of the NJ Wind Port in Lower Alloways Creek, Salem County.
The project is a first-of-its-kind infrastructure investment that will lay a foundation for the state’s burgeoning offshore wind industry, providing a hub for essential staging, assembly and manufacturing activities. The state says the NJ Wind Port has the potential to create up to 1,500 jobs while driving billions of dollars in economic activity.
Gov. Phil Murphy and U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh participate in a groundbreaking for the New Jersey Wind Port on Sept. 9, 2021. EDWIN J. TORRES/NJ GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
Phase 1 of the project broke ground in September 2021. The purchase of the property from NDEV LLC enables Phase 2. As proposed, it will expand the total footprint to over 220 acres, which allows the site to support marshalling of two wind projects concurrently as well as up to three co-located manufacturing facilities.
“Today’s approval is another major step forward for the New Jersey Wind Port and for delivering on Gov. [Phil] Murphy’s goal of making New Jersey the engine room of the U.S. offshore wind supply chain,” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “The ability to marshal two projects at once, with additional space for component manufacturing, will turbocharge job creation, opportunities for small businesses, and all forms of ancillary economic activity both locally and across the state.”
Sullivan also noted that the expansion of marshalling capacity will help alleviate the current shortfall in fit-for-purpose port capacity across the region.
The site, which is set directly north of property the NJEDA is leasing from PSEG Nuclear to develop Phase 1 of the NJ Wind Port, was purchased for a negotiated price of $24.5 million.
In the coming months, NJEDA expects to begin tenant selection for parcels of the property.
