Invenergy to build New Jersey transmission link for 3.6GW of offshore wind
Invenergy to build New Jersey transmission link for 3.6GW of offshore wind | Windpower Monthly
US developer Invenergy has formed an offshore wind transmission initiative, Jersey Link. The project, bought from Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, was previously known as Atlantic Power Transmission.
The HVDC link will allow for the integration of up to 3.6GW of new offshore wind into New Jersey's grid, the company said.
The state has a goal of 11GW of offshore wind by 2040.
"This announcement underscores Invenergy's continued commitment to building the critical infrastructure required to advance the offshore wind and transmission goals of New Jersey, and the US at large," said Robert Taylor, senior project director for Jersey Link.
Invenergy is the lead developer of Leading Light Wind, an offshore project that recently submitted a bid to deliver up to 2.4GW of wind power to New Jersey.
In June, Blackstone completed a $1 billion equity investment in Invenergy Renewables Holdings, which followed a $3 billion investment in 2022.
Related Knowledge Center: Offshore wind energy
Over the next decade, U.S. offshore wind power is expected to grow from a single 30-megawatt wind farm off Rhode Island to more than 2,000 MW of capacity along the Atlantic Seaboard. There are contracts for wind power off the coasts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the United States has over 4,000 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential, enough to power the country four times over.
The growth in part being spurred by state solicitations, including in New York, where then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set a commitment of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, and in Connecticut, where in June 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed legislation authorizing the construction of 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
The offshore development is also being driven by an investment tax credit set to end in December 2019 and is equal to 12 percent of expenditures. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced a bill to extend the tax credit for up to eight years.
The Interior Department has held eight competitive lease sales that resulted in 15 offshore wind leases over 1.7 million acres that has the potential for 21 GW of capacity. In February 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completed a bidding process that realized $4.37 billion for 488,000 acres across six lease areas in federal waters off New York and New Jersey.
Projects have also been proposed off the Southeast coast, off California and Hawaii, and for the Great Lakes.