Ørsted to Become First Tenant of New Jersey Wind Port

With the agreement, Ørsted will be the port’s inaugural tenant and expects to create up to 200 jobs over its lease term.

The offshore wind project itself is expected to create over 15,000 jobs over its 25-year operational life.

“This will be a catalyst for the men and women of the South Jersey building trades, which in turn will help grow the local economy with the union wages that are being paid”, said Dan Cosner, Business Manager and Financial Secretary of Electrical Workers Local Union 351.

The Danish company will sublease up to 34 acres of property at the port for up to two years, with a total rent payment estimated at over USD 25 million.

The New Jersey Wind Port, located on the Delaware River in Lower Alloways Creek, Salem County, New Jersey, is expected to be a transformative, hub-style port serving offshore wind projects in New Jersey and up and down the US East Coast.

The construction of the project began in 2021. The 220-acre port can accommodate multiple Tier 1 component manufacturers such as blades, nacelles, towers, and cables.

The agreement with Ørsted includes a mechanism for shared berth use, which should allow 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 in December of that year. The two parties executed a Letter of Intent (LOI) in April 2022 and have since been negotiating final terms.

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.

Earlier this month, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation allowing Ørsted to access federal tax credits that will enable them to complete Ocean Wind 1.