Atlantic Shores North

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC is a 50:50 partnership between Shell New Energies US LLC and EDF Renewables North America. On April 19, 2022 the original lease (OCS-A 0499) was bifurcated into two lease areas. The southern portion of the lease retained the same lease number and is referred to as Atlantic Shores South. The northern portion of the lease was re-numbered to OCS-A 0549 and is referred to as Atlantic Shores North.

The Atlantic Shores North project consists of the development of an offshore wind farm with a maximum of 157 wind turbine generators, up to 8 small, 4 medium, or 3 large offshore substations, inter-array and/or inter-link cables, and a meteorological tower that will be located in Federal offshore waters approximately 8.4 miles from the New Jersey shoreline as well as accompanying electric transmission cables from the lease area to potential points of interconnection in New Jersey and/or New York.

NEPA Process

Atlantic Shores North submitted a Construction and Operations Plan to BOEM on April 29, 2022 and an updated version was submitted on March 1, 2024 in preparation for developing a draft Environmental Impact Statement. On March 15, 2024 BOEM released a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Atlantic Shores North project.

State Activities

NJDEP received a request for a Federal Consistency Certification on April 22, 2024 from Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC to develop a commercial-scale, offshore wind energy generation facility within Lease Area OCS-A 0549.

More information can be found on BOEM’s website and Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind website.

NJDEP Comment Letters

NJDEP Comments on Atlantic Shores North Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement .

Federal Consistency Stay Agreement

Atlantic Shores North Federal Consistency Stay Agreement .

Attentive Energy Two

Attentive Energy Two is located approximately 42 miles east of Seaside Heights. On January 24, 2024 NJBPU announced the Attentive Energy Two project was awarded the 3rd Offshore Wind Solicitation for New Jersey to deliver 1,342 MW of power to the state. It is anticipated that over 650,000 homes will be powered annually by the project. Commercial operation is expected in 2031.

More information can be found on BOEMs website  and Attentive Energy’s website.

Leading Light Wind

Leading Light Wind is located approximately 35 miles offshore of New Jersey. On January 24, 2024 NJBPU announced the Leading Light Wind project was awarded the 3^rd Offshore Wind Solicitation for New Jersey to deliver 2,400 MW of power to the state.

More information can be found on BOEMs website and Leading Light Winds website.

New York Bight

In support of BOEM’s priorities to advance domestic energy production, generate revenue, and increase job opportunities nationwide, BOEM is moving forward with wind energy planning efforts on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the New York Bight region, which represents an area of shallow waters between Long Island (to the north and east) and the New Jersey coast (to the south and west).

On June 11, 2021, the Department of the Interior announced a proposed sale notice for offshore wind development on the Outer Continental Shelf in the New York Bight. On Jan. 12, 2022, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced that BOEM will hold a wind energy auction on Feb. 23, 2022, for more than 480,000 acres in the New York Bight. This will be the first offshore wind energy auction under the Biden-Harris Administration. The auction will allow offshore wind developers to bid on six lease areas – the most areas ever offered in a single auction – as described in BOEM’s Final Sale Notice. Leases offered in this sale could result in 5.6 to 7 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, enough to power nearly 2 million homes.

Overview Map of the NY Bight Proposed Lease Areas

For more information on the NY/NJ Bight Wind Energy Areas.

Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS)

On January 8, 2024 BOEM released the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the development of six offshore wind lease areas, known as the New York Bight, off the coast of New Jersey and New York. The PEIS was prepared to assess the potential biological, socioeconomic, physical and cultural impacts associated with the development of the New York Bight lease areas. This includes the evaluation of avoidance, minimization, mitigation and monitoring measures through an alternatives analysis.

The release of the Draft PEIS opened a 45-day public comment, that was extended for 15-days for a total of 60-days. All comments received will be reviewed and considered by BOEM in preparation for the Final PEIS.

NJDEP Comment Letters

• December 2018 State of NJ Comments on Proposed Wind Energy Areas .
• NJDEP and NJBPU’s joint comments on the announcement of the New York New Jersey Bight Wind Energy Areas and the preparation of an Environmental Assessment associated with issuing leases in the Wind Energy Areas .
• NJ Joint Comments on NY Bight Proposed Sale Notice .
• New York Bight Wind Energy Areas Offshore the States of New York and New Jersey Federal Consistency Determination .
• NJDEP Comments on Commercial and Research Wind Lease and Grant Issuance and Site Assessment Activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf of the New York/New Jersey Bight, Draft Environmental Assessment .
• NJDEP Comments on BOEM’s Notice of Intent to Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Future Wind Development in the NY Bight Lease Areas .
• NJDEP Comments on NYB Draft PEIS

Ocean Wind 1

On October 31, 2023, Orsted announced they would be ceasing development of both the Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 projects. For more information, please see Orsted’s press release.

On February 29, 2024 BOEM approved a 2 year suspension of the commercial lease area leased by Ocean Wind LLC.

Ørsted’s Ocean Wind 1 lease area (OCS-A 0498) is located approximately 15 miles off New Jersey’s coast. On June 21, 2019 the NJBPU announced that Ørsted’s Ocean Wind 1 Project was awarded a solicitation for 1,100 MW offshore wind project. This 1,100 MW project has the potential to power nearly half a million homes in New Jersey.

More information on Ørsted’s Ocean Wind 1 project.

More information on BOEM Lease area OCS-A 0498.

BOEM NEPA Process

Ocean Wind 1’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP) was submitted to BOEM on August 15, 2019, with updated versions submitted on March 13, 2020, September 24, 2020, and March 24, 2021. BOEM will review the COP and approve, disapprove, or approve with modifications the proposed activities. On March 30, 2021, BOEM published a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Ocean Wind 1. The Notice of Intent initiates a 30-day public comment period and triggers the beginning of the State’s review process under a Federal Consistency review. On June 24, 2022, BOEM published a Notice of Availability (NOA) for the Ocean Wind 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The Ocean Wind 1 DEIS can be viewed here.
On May 22, 2023 BOEM announced the availability of the final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed Ocean Wind 1 wind energy project offshore New Jersey.
The Notice of Availability (NOA) for the Ocean Wind 1 FEIS for Ocean Wind LLC’s Proposed Wind Energy Facility was published in the Federal Register on May 26, 2023.

• Ocean Wind 1 FEIS Notice of Availability (BOEM-2023-0029)
• Ocean Wind 1 FEIS
• Ocean Wind 1 Construction and Operations Plan
• Cumulative Historic Resources Visual Effects Analysis

On July 5, 2023, the Department of the Interior announced the approval of the construction and operation of the Ocean Wind 1 project offshore New Jersey. The ROD documents the decision to approve Ocean Wind LLC’s plan to construct up to 98 wind turbines and up to three offshore substations within its Lease Area.

• Ocean Wind 1 ROD
• Ocean Wind 1 ROD Notice of Availability (BOEM-2023-0029)

On September 21, 2023, BOEM approved the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for the Ocean Wind 1 Offshore Wind Farm Project and its associated project easement.

• Ocean Wind 1 COP Approval Letter (includes Conditions of COP Approval and revised Addendum A and Addendum D)

NJDEP Permitting

On April 27, 2023, the NJDEP approved an application for a CAFRA Individual Permit, Waterfront Development Individual Permit, Coastal Wetlands Permit and Freshwater Wetlands Individual Permit for the Ocean Wind 1 offshore wind project within the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) Lease Area OCS-A 0498 off the coast of New Jersey. The work proposed under this State permit application within State waters and onshore includes the installation of electric transmission cables to the B.L. England substation and the Oyster Creek substation, associated infrastructure along the cable routes including manholes, duct banks, and transition joint bays (TBJ’s), the construction of two onshore substations, and maintenance dredging of Oyster Creek Federal Channel.

Additionally, NJDEP issued a Federal Consistency Certification on April 27th for the portion of the project in federal waters which includes the construction of up to 98 wind turbine generators within Lease Area OCS-A 0498, up to three (3) offshore alternating current substations, array cable installations linking the individual turbines to the offshore substations, and substation interconnector cables linking two of the three substations to each other.

These are the primary NJDEP permits which authorize construction of the Ocean Wind 1 project. It is anticipated that the project will also need NJPDES stormwater management and dewatering permits related to onshore construction. The NJDEP has not yet received applications for those activities.

NJDEP Permits and Federal Consistency Certification

NJDEP State permit .
NJDEP Ocean Wind 1 BL England Plans – Stamped .
NJDEP Ocean Wind 1 Grading & Drainage Plan – Stamped .
NJDEP Ocean Wind 1 HDD Plans – Stamped .
NJDEP Ocean Wind 1 Offshore Plans – Stamped .
NJDEP Ocean Wind 1 Oyster Creek Plans – Stamped .
NJDEP Ocean Wind 1 Post Dev SW Plan – Stamped .
NJDEP Ocean Wind 1 State Permit Env Report .
NJDEP Ocean Wind 1 Response to Comments .
NJDEP Federal Consistency Certification letter, signed .
NJDEP Ocean Wind 1 Fed Con Env Report .
NJDEP and Ocean Wind 1 Letter of Intent .

NJDEP Comment Letters

NJDEP Comments on Ocean Wind LLC’s Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement .
NJDEP Comments on the Ocean Wind 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement .

Federal Consistency Stay Agreement

Ocean Wind 1 Federal Consistency Stay Agreement .

Ocean Wind 2

On December 8, 2020, Ocean Wind LLC submitted an application to BOEM to assign a portion of lease #OCS-A 0498 to Orsted North American Inc. BOEM approved the assignment on March 26, 2021. The lease area assigned to Orsted North America Inc. now carries the new lease number #OCS-A 0532 and is being developed under the project name “Ocean Wind 2”. On June 30, 2021 the NJBPU awarded OREC’s to Ocean Wind for their 1,148 MW Ocean Wind 2 project which will be located in lease area #OCS-A 0532.

Ocean Wind 2 anticipates submitting their Construction and Operations Plan (COP) to BOEM in early 2023. The wind turbines are expected to begin generating power in 2028.

More information on Ørsted’s Ocean Wind 2 project.

More information on BOEM Lease area OCS-A 0532.

Empire Wind

On July 18, 2019, New York awarded OREC’s for Equinor’s 816 MW Empire Wind 1 Project. On January 13, 2021, New York awarded OREC’s for Equinor’s 1,260 MW Empire Wind 2 Project. The two projects combined propose up to 147 wind turbines and up to 2 offshore substations with two cable routes located within Lease Area OCS-A-0512, which is located approximately 19.5 miles (16.9 nautical miles) east of Long Branch, New Jersey and 14 miles (12 nautical miles) south of Long Island, New York.  In total the Project is expected to generate 2,076-megawatts of clean, renewable energy.  Once constructed will build out the entire OCS-A 0512 lease area.

More information on Equinor’s Empire Wind projects.

More information on BOEM Lease area OCS-A 0512.

BOEM NEPA Process

Empire Wind submitted its Construction and Operations Plan (COP) on January 10, 2020 with an updated version submitted on April 14, 2021. BOEM will review the COP and approve, disapprove, or approve with modifications the proposed activities. On June 24, 2021 BOEM published a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Empire Wind 1 & 2. The Notice of Intent initiated a 30-day public comment period and triggered the beginning of the State’s review process under a Federal Consistency review. On November 18, 2022, BOEM announced the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for the proposed Empire Wind energy project offshore New York.  On Sep. 11, 2023, BOEM announced the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) for the proposed Empire Wind project offshore New York.

• Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS
• Empire Wind Construction and Operations Plan and Appendices
• Empire Wind Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS)
• Empire Wind Final EIS

NJDEP Federal Consistency

On June 24, 2021, Empire Offshore Wind LLC (“Empire Wind”) submitted to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) a federal consistency certification and a copy of the Construction and Operation Plan (“COP”) for the proposed construction and operation of the wind energy projects. Although neither Empire Wind project will be connecting its power to New Jersey’s electrical grid, Empire Wind voluntarily submitted the consistency certification to NJDEP to review for any reasonably foreseeable effects of the Project on coastal use or resources for consistency with the enforceable policies of the New Jersey Coastal Zone Management Program. On September 15th, 2023, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Division of Land Resource Protection (Division) issued a Federal Consistency Certification for the Empire Wind project. The Division concurs with Empire Wind’s consistency certification that the project is consistent with the enforceable policies of the New Jersey Coastal Zone Management Program, N.J.A.C. 7:7-1.1 et seq., (last amended on October 5, 2021). The Division’s Federal Consistency concurrence decision is based upon the information contained in BOEM’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), Empire Wind’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP), including Empire Wind’s commitment to measures intended to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the reasonably foreseeable effects associated with the project, consistent with N.J.A.C. 7:7-1.1 et seq., including N.J.A.C. 7:7-16.2.

Empire Wind Federal Consistency Certification Letter
Empire Wind Federal Consistency Analysis
Empire Wind and NJDEP Letter of Intent

NJDEP Comment Letters

NJDEP Comments on Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Empire Wind’s Proposed Wind Energy Facility Offshore New York and New Jersey  .

NJDEP Comments on the Empire Wind Draft Environmental Impact Statement .