The NJ wind port plan moves ahead: How soon does it start?

It’s all systems go for New Jersey’s ambitious plan to construct a giant wind farm with hundreds of enormous turbines out in the Atlantic Ocean, about 20 miles off the coast of Atlantic City.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority has approved the $24 million purchase of a 109-acre property in Lower Alloways Creek in Salem County, where a massive wind port plant will soon be constructed.

Authority CEO Tim Sullivan said once the facility is completed it will be buzzing with activity.

"It’s an opportunity to bring clean energy manufacturing jobs right next to the port," he said. “The manufacturing will come online at the wind port, probably in the 2024, 2025 time frame."

When will Jersey start to get electricity from wind power?

Sullivan said the current projection is for the project to start generating power by late 2024.

He said the economic impact of wind energy will be huge.

“It’s a brand new industry that is taking root. We’re talking about tens of thousands of jobs in New Jersey. At the wind port alone, we’re talking about 1,500-plus permanent jobs,” he said.

“At the wind port alone we project that this is going to add half a billion dollars in GDP impact every year.”

Make New Jersey the national leader

He said the goal is to have the Garden State become the capital of the American offshore wind industry.

“We hope that the next generation of turbine technology is developed here in New Jersey, we want to make an American wind industry, not an imported European industry,” said Sullivan

A group called Save Our Shoreline claims the wind farm planned off the Jersey coast will harm marine life, tourism, birds and local economies.

They have an online petition with more than 12,600 signatures opposing the wind farm.

The Murphy administration has set a goal of producing 7,500 megawatts of wind power, enough to power about 3 and a half million homes, by 2035.

Developing offshore wind resources is a core strategy of the governor’s Energy Master Plan, which calls for 100% clean energy for the Garden State by 2050.

David Matthau is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at david.matthau@townsquaremedia.com

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