(The Center Square) — A Danish energy developer will become the solitary owner of New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm in a deal announced Wednesday by the company.
Ørsted said it has acquired the remaining 25% equity stake in Ocean Wind 1 from the Public Service Enterprise Group, giving it 100% ownership of the project.
Neither entity disclosed costs or other details of the transaction, which is expected to be finalized in the year’s first half.
The project, expected to be completed by the end of 2024, calls for developing 1,100 megawatts of offshore wind in waters located 15 miles off the coast of southern New Jersey.
According to the company, the towering wind turbines will be capable of churning out enough electricity to power more than 500,000 homes in the state.
David Hardy, the group’s executive vice president and CEO Americas at Ørsted, said the company has been a “valuable partner” on the Ocean Wind 1 project, which has helped advance the nation’s efforts to develop offshore wind.
“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,” he said in a statement.
Lathrop Craig, PSEG’s senior vice president and chief commercial officer, said the decision to step away from the project was “difficult” but will “allow for a better-positioned tax investor to join the project so that it can proceed.”
“While this was a difficult decision, it was driven by the best interests of the project and New Jersey’s offshore wind goals,” he said. “PSEG will continue to support offshore wind in New Jersey and the region actively.”
Ørsted said it has already committed to $695 million of in-state spending for Ocean Wind 1, creating “hundreds of jobs” during the project’s construction phase.
The company said it has also won initial state approval to develop Ocean Wind 2, a similarly situated 1,148 megawatt offshore wind project that will add enough electricity to power an additional half-million homes.
