Pascrell Leads New Jersey Democrats in Support of Offshore Wind Project

Atlantic Shores development expected to power over 700,000 homes, create 22,000 jobs

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) this week led all Democratic members of the New Jersey congressional delegation in support of constructing two offshore wind energy generation projects off the Garden State coast. The members emphasize the importance of these projects in continuing New Jersey’s national leadership against climate change.

The letter is signed by Rep. Pascrell, Senator Robert Menendez, Senator Cory A. Booker, and Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-06), Albio Sires (D-NJ-08), Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ-10), Donald Norcross (D-NJ-01), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05), Andy Kim (D-NJ-03), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ-07), and Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11).

“We know ‘once in a century’ storms are occurring with much greater frequency that continue to devastate homes and businesses across our state. Thanks to the leadership of Governor Phil Murphy and the Biden Administration we have a unique opportunity to reduce the emissions that drive climate change by deploying clean electricity and creating a new domestic industry with offshore wind energy,” the members wrote to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The members continued writing that, “the Atlantic Shores’ Projects 1 and 2 are fully operational more than 22,290 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs are expected to have been created. The creation of these jobs is expected to be supported by collaborations between Atlantic Shores and the cooperative science, engineering, research, and next generation workforce training programs at Rutgers University, Rowan College, and Stockton University. We support the Atlantic Shores Project 1 because it is expected to power over 700,000 homes and we are informed that there is a commitment to delivering guaranteed local economic benefits of $848 million during the development and construction phase for New Jersey. An estimated $1.896 billion in NJ benefits are expected to be created over the life of this project, including indirect and induced benefits. Advancing the COP so that these projects can move forward would create long-term, sustainable, renewable energy for communities in New Jersey.”

“Atlantic Shores is proud to help New Jersey become a national leader in the green economy by investing in local workforce training, using local union labor, and partnering with nearby schools to fund environmental research and education opportunities,” said Jennifer Daniels, Development Director at Atlantic Shores. “We are grateful for the support from Rep. Pascrell, Sen. Booker, Sen. Menendez and other Members of the Delegation for our Projects, and look forward to working with the Biden-Harris Administration to achieve their offshore renewable energy goals.”

Atlantic Shores expects to invest in the green economy by supporting workforce training and using local union labor from six unions in New Jersey, including Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, Laborers’ International Union of North America, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 456, Local 400 and Local 351, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825, Ironworkers International and Eastern Millwright Regional Council. Additionally, Atlantic Shores is funding science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education programs, environmental protection efforts, and research at New Jersey’s leading academic institutions, including Rutgers University, Stockton University and Rowan College.

Rep. Pascrell recently praised the auctioning offshore New Jersey and New York to generate clean energy for millions. Pascrell is the lead House sponsor of the Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act, which was included in the Moving Forward Act and enacted into law in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 in 2020. It provides an investment tax credit for offshore wind development. Pascrell also fought to include offshore wind manufacturing incentives in the House-passed Build Back Better bill. In addition, he co-led a letter to support offshore wind development in the New York Bight.

The text of the members’ letter is below.

January 14, 2022

The Honorable Amanda Lefton

Director

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

1849 C Street NW

Washington, D.C. 20240

Dear Director Lefton:

We write as Members of Congress who represent the great state of New Jersey in support of the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) submitted by Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind (Atlantic Shores), for the development of two offshore wind energy generation projects within the southern portion of Lease Area OCS-A 0499 (the Lease Area). We know “once in a century” storms are occurring with much greater frequency that continue to devastate homes and businesses across our state. Thanks to the leadership of Governor Phil Murphy and the Biden Administration we have a unique opportunity to reduce the emissions that drive climate change by deploying clean electricity and creating a new domestic industry with offshore wind energy.

As you know, Atlantic Shores is a 50/50 joint venture between EDF Renewables and Shell New Energies. The venture has taken robust steps to prepare this COP and inform the general public about how the venture plans to build wind turbines offshore and interconnect to the electrical grid onshore. The proposed Atlantic Shores Lease Area is located on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) within the New Jersey Wind Energy Area (NJWEA) that was identified by BOEM as suitable for offshore renewable energy development through a multi-year, public environmental review process. The COP covers Atlantic Shores Project 1 and Project 2 (the Projects). Earlier this year, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJ BPU) awarded Atlantic Shores Project 1 an Offshore Renewable Energy Credit (OREC) allowance to deliver 1,510 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind energy to the State of New Jersey. Project 2 is also being developed to support future solicitations. These projects are critical to ensuring New Jersey State attains its offshore wind energy development goal of 7,500 MW by 2035, and meeting President Biden’s goal of 30,000 MW by 2030.

We support the COP because Atlantic Shores has shown a commitment to making New Jersey a national leader in the green economy by investing in workforce training and using local union labor from six unions operating in our state, including Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, Laborers’ International Union of North America, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 456, Local 400 and Local 351, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825, Ironworkers International and Eastern Millwright Regional Council. Additionally, Atlantic Shores has shown a commitment to our communities by funding science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education programs, environmental protection efforts, and research at New Jersey’s leading academic institutions, including Rutgers University, Stockton University and Rowan College.

We understand that once the Atlantic Shores’ Projects 1 and 2 are fully operational more than 22,290 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs are expected to have been created. The creation of these jobs is expected to be supported by collaborations between Atlantic Shores and the cooperative science, engineering, research, and next generation workforce training programs at Rutgers University, Rowan College, and Stockton University.

We support the Atlantic Shores Project 1 because it is expected to power over 700,000 homes and we are informed that there is a commitment to delivering guaranteed local economic benefits of $848 million during the development and construction phase for New Jersey. An estimated $1.896 billion in NJ benefits are expected to be created over the life of this project, including indirect and induced benefits. Advancing the COP so that these projects can move forward would create long-term, sustainable, renewable energy for communities in New Jersey.

Thank you very much for your time and attention to our request. We look forward to working together to ensure our nation will generate clean energy for future generations to come.

Sincerely,

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