Ørsted Finalizes Lease to Become New Jersey Offshore Wind Port’s First Tenant

The state of New Jersey has approved agreements with Ørsted for the development and sublease of up to 34 acres at the New Jersey Wind Port (NJWP), a specialized port facility to support offshore wind farms.

With the agreement, Ørsted becomes the port’s inaugural tenant. The company, which is developing the 1.1 gigawatt (GW) Ocean Wind 1 project offshore New Jersey, expects to create up to 200 jobs over its lease term. The wind farm itself is expected to create over 15,000 jobs over its 25-year operational life.

The New Jersey Wind Port will be the first and largest facility of its kind in the U.S, providing port capacity to support offshore wind projects and serving as a regional hub for turbine component manufacturing. New Jersey broke ground on the project in 2021. The 220-acre port can accommodate multiple Tier 1 component manufacturers, such as blades, nacelles, towers, and cables.

The Biden Administration approved the construction and operation plan for the Ocean Wind 1 project earlier this month, making it the third commercial-scale offshore wind energy project to be approved in U.S. federal waters under the Biden Administration. The first two approved projects, the Vineyard Wind project off Massachusetts and the South Fork Wind project offshore Rhode Island and New York, are currently under construction.

According to the agreement approved by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) Board, Ørsted has agreed to sublease up to 34 acres of property at the port for up to two years, with a total rent payment estimated at over $25 million.

“The Board’s approval serves as another major step forward in achieving Governor Murphy’s 11 GW offshore wind target, and cements New Jersey’s reputation as a national leader in offshore wind,” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “Ørsted’s decision to marshal its Ocean Wind 1 project from the New Jersey Wind Port will create 200 jobs that would otherwise have gone to other states, and is the first of many projects that will use the Port in the years and decades ahead.”

The agreement with Ørsted includes a mechanism for shared berth use, which allows the port to attract manufacturing tenants who need access to purpose-built wharves to ship out completed components.

The NJEDA first issued a Notice to sublease in November 2020 and Ørsted submitted a non-binding offer the following month. The two parties executed a Letter of Intent (LOI) in April 2022 and have since been negotiating final terms of the agreement. The property being subleased to Orsted is owned by PSEG Nuclear and is being leased by NJEDA from PSEG Nuclear on a 78-year basis.

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