Offshore wind represents one of the largest engineering projects in recent memory and development work is proceeding rapidly in Trenton, the counties and among higher education institutions.

In New Jersey, the energy company is partnering with PSEG on the Ocean Wind 1 project, with the sector poised to become a potentially multibillion dollar one that Gov. Phil Murphy is betting on heavily to succeed.

The appointment, announced Thursday during Gov. Phil Murphy's Keynote Address at the Business Network for Offshore Wind’s International Partnering Forum in Atlantic City, establishes the project from the sector leader and partner PSEG as the first tenant of the New Jersey Wind Port.

The Blackstone portfolio company, based in Princeton, will dedicate the funds to creating a workforce hub — including education, training and research institutions.

The new agreement with the Salem County Vocational Technical School is essentially modeled after a similar one from December with Gloucester County Institute of Technology.

Environmentalists aren’t the only ones cheering the Garden State’s ambitious plans to generate renewable energy with the projects.

The U.S. Department of the Interior is in the process of selling more than 488,000 acres located in a stretch of shallow ocean water near the coasts of the Garden State and Long Island known as the New York Bight.

A two-count suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the group Save Long Beach Island, a nonprofit that says proposals from the Biden and Murphy administrations haven’t thoroughly examined how to avoid harming the state's commercial fishing and tourism industries, or its marine ecosystems. 

“Offshore wind holds a tremendous promise for our future, obviously in terms of climate change, but also economic growth, strengthening our workforce … as well as job creation,” Gov. Phil Murphy said during a Jan. 12 press call with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler.

The expansion comes at a time when global shipping delays are stretching supply chains already weakened by the COVID-19 pandemic and as the region plans for an expanding offshore wind power sector.

Some of the world’s largest turbine manufacturers are among those looking to set up shop at the state's forthcoming 200-acre New Jersey Wind Port.

“It is crucial that we take steps now to prepare to meet the industry’s workforce needs and to ensure equitable access to these opportunities for all New Jerseyans,” said New Jersey Economic Development Authority CEO Tim Sullivan, who's organization is one of the state offices overseeing the program.