Danish offshore wind giant Ørsted just put up a $100 million guarantee that it will have New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm, Ocean Wind 1, online by December 2025.

If the project isn’t online by the deadlines agreed to by Ørsted and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the company will have to forfeit the $100 million it’s put in an escrow account.

The project is to reach commercial operation in stages by May 1, September 1, and December 1, 2024. However, December 2025 is when it has to be fully operational, and that’s the money forfeit cutoff date. And the state’s side of the bargain is that if Ørsted doesn’t get all the government permits it needs to build Ocean Wind 1, then the wind developer gets its $100 million back.

Ørsted made the guarantee as part of the requirements included in a law that Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ) signed in July that allows Ørsted to keep federal tax credits that it otherwise would have had to return to ratepayers.

Ørsted has faced obstacles of higher interest rates, supply chain bottlenecks, and a plea for more tax credits from the federal government that has so far fallen on deaf ears. It’s also had to deal with Republican opposition in Cape May that’s based on lies about the project’s environmental impact on wildlife.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management published Ocean Wind 1’s Final Environmental Impact Statement on May 26, and it found that the project’s plans are responsible and prioritize the preservation of natural resources, wildlife, and other important environmental considerations.

The 1.1 gigawatt (GW) Ocean Wind 1, which is owned solely by Danish wind giant Ørsted, will feature up to 98 GE Haliade X 12 megawatt (MW) turbines, and it will be capable of powering around 380,000 households. It will be located 15 miles southeast of Atlantic City. Construction begins this week on cable installation that will connect Ocean Wind 1 with its substations and the grid.

New Jersey has set a goal of achieving 7.5 GW of offshore wind energy by 2035.

Read more: Despite headwinds, offshore wind will see ‘massive’ growth to 2032 – report

Photo: Ørsted

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