Ørsted to Take Full Ownership of Ocean Wind 1 Offshore Wind Project

January 18, 2023, by Adnan Memija

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) has agreed to sell its 25 per cent equity stake in the 1.1 GW Ocean Wind 1 offshore wind project to Ørsted, providing the Danish company with 100 per cent ownership of the US project.

“As Ocean Wind 1 has evaluated the optimal way to move forward, it has become clear that it is best for the project for PSEG to step aside and allow for a better positioned tax investor to join the project so that it can proceed with an optimized tax structure. While this was a difficult decision, it was driven by the best interests of the project and New Jersey’s offshore wind goals”, said Lathrop Craig, PSEG’s Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer.

Ørsted will proceed with the development of the project with PSEG supporting onshore infrastructure construction.

As Ocean Wind 1 continues its planning and development, Ørsted plans to ensure the project delivers affordable energy to New Jersey, while providing economic opportunity across the state and region.

Ocean Wind 1 has committed to USD 695 million of in-state spending, creating hundreds of jobs during the construction phase of the project.

“With a well-established presence in the U.S., we’re confident in our ability to drive the project forward with commercial operations beginning as planned”, said David Hardy, Group EVP and CEO Americas at Ørsted.

The transaction between Ørsted and PSEG is expected to close in the first half of 2023, pending the required closing conditions.

Located approximately 15 miles (around 24 kilometres) off the coast of southern New Jersey, Ocean Wind 1 is the offshore wind project selected by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) through a solicitation held in 2019.

In June last year, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Ocean Wind 1.

According to the article, Ocean Wind proposes to construct up to 98 wind turbines and up to three offshore substations within the lease area.

The project will feature GE Haliade-X 12 MW turbines, with an option to use the 13 MW variant, and with a capacity of 1.1 GW it will be capable of providing enough clean energy to power 500,000 New Jersey homes.

The initial power delivery from the offshore wind farm is scheduled for the end of 2024 and full commissioning is expected in 2025.