Ørsted cuts ribbon on Newark office

Thursday marked another major step in the state’s developing offshore wind sector, as Ørsted held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of its North American Digital Operations Headquarters in Newark.

At the event, Ørsted welcomed First Lady Tammy Murphy and New Jersey Economic Development Authority CEO Tim Sullivan, along with a slew of elected officials, business representatives and other stakeholders. The headquarters, located in the recently renovated Ironside Newark building, will support the company’s offshore and onshore businesses and currently houses its IT and local project development staff.

The new location complements Ørsted’s first New Jersey office, which opened in Atlantic City in 2018.

“I am so pleased to attend today’s ribbon-cutting event celebrating the grand opening of Ørsted’s second office in New Jersey,” said Murphy. “When I attended the first office opening in Atlantic City, I hoped Ørsted would expand its footprint in New Jersey, and here we stand, today in Newark. The educational, societal, and economic benefits of offshore wind need to be felt throughout the State of New Jersey and the country, and today is another step toward that realization.”

Ørsted is partnering with PSEG on the state’s first offshore wind farm, Ocean Wind 1.

The Oct. 13 event also highlighted the latest developments from Ørsted’s collaboration with the New Jersey Institute of Technology, which created new scholarship and career development opportunities in offshore wind and STEM for engineering and computer science undergraduate students. Ørsted says it is working with NJIT to develop STEM programs and on outreach to underrepresented students in Newark.

“We are proud that to date, we have joined NJIT in offering scholarships to 34 university students and have provided funding to the NJIT Center for Pre-College Programs and the NJIT-Newark Math Success Initiative,” said Kathleen Frangione, head of government affairs and market strategy for Ørsted. “We are focused on creating local educational opportunities that build solid foundations and bridges to opportunities that enable New Jersey students to have access to new clean energy job opportunities created in their home state.”

In a statement, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said he is pleased to welcome Ørsted as one of the city’s newest corporate citizens.

“I am excited by the Ørsted/NJIT partnership to develop STEM education and outreach programs for Newark school children as well as offshore wind scholarships and career development for undergraduates,” said Baraka. “Newark is developing rapidly as a tech hub and one reason is the collaborative culture of our corporate anchors and our colleges and universities. Not only is Ørsted an international leader in tackling the climate crisis, it is inspiring and helping to educate a new generation of sustainability innovators.”