The New Jersey Economic Development Authority announced May 20 it will soon launch the next phase of its tenant selection process for the New Jersey Wind Port.

Located on the Delaware River in Lower Alloways Creek, the project is at the center of the state’s push to build an offshore wind industry from the ground up. The announcement follows a slew activity from Gov. Phil Murphy and the NJEDA in the sector, which NJBIZ highlighted in its May 9, 2022, issue.

The New Jersey Wind Port is poised to become a hub that will serve offshore wind projects in New Jersey, as well as up and down the East Coast, with the potential to create up to 1,500 manufacturing, assembly and operations jobs.

“There is simply no better site to anchor an offshore wind manufacturing facility in the nation than at the New Jersey Wind Port, the nation’s only purpose-built greenfield wind port and epicenter of the nation’s fast emerging wind supply chain hub,” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “For a manufacturer, being co-located with two marshalling parcels means significantly lower logistics costs, a win for industry and a win for energy consumers. At the same time, being part of the nation’s supply chain hub means ready access to a growing ecosystem of tier two suppliers across southern New Jersey and throughout the state.”

The NJEDA will soon seek non-binding offers from Tier 1 offshore wind component manufacturers, such as blades manufacturers, for an approximately 70-acre parcel at the Port. The organization anticipates that the parcel will be available for sublease from late-2026.

“Manufacturing critical components of the offshore wind supply chain here in New Jersey will not only benefit our own offshore wind projects, but the entire industry up and down the East Coast,” said New Jersey Board of Public Utilities President Joseph Fiordaliso. “By diversifying the manufacturing opportunities available, we will bring more jobs and economic development opportunities to the Garden State as we work to achieve Gov. Murphy’s goal of 7.5 GW by 2035.”

Core construction began in January, with the first phase of the Port due to reach completion in early 2024.

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