The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) is pressing ahead with a novel approach to transmission planning as it endeavours to reach Governor Murphy’s goal of 7.5 GW of offshore wind energy by 2035
On 15 April 2021, regional grid operator PJM Interconnection opened a 120-day solicitation window on behalf of NJBPU for qualified developers to submit potential transmission solutions that would help deliver offshore wind energy to the existing power grid.
The competitive solicitation is the result of a request by NJBPU to incorporate the state’s offshore wind public policy goals into PJM’s regional transmission planning process using a ‘state agreement approach.’
NJBPU president Joe Fiordaliso said, “New Jersey is the first and only state to utilise this approach with PJM, and we are pleased to see it moving forward smoothly as we work towards Governor Murphy’s goal of 100% clean energy by 2050.
“Through this process, we are leveraging PJM’s transmission planning expertise to ensure we achieve our offshore wind goals in an economically efficient, environmentally sensitive, and timely manner.
“This once-in-a-generation opportunity will establish New Jersey as the epicentre of a burgeoning new industry that can provide tens of thousands of good-paying jobs, reduced emissions, and over a billion dollars in economic benefits when we need it most.”
PJM president and chief executive Manu Asthana said, “We are pleased to see PJM’s competitive process employed to solicit innovative transmission solutions that can help advance New Jersey’s public policy objectives reliably, efficiently and economically.”
The solicitation process, which PJM will manage, will enable NJBPU to evaluate a wide array of ready-to-build transmission options that otherwise may not have been available at this stage of offshore wind development.
Specifically, the solicitation is seeking potential options for four interrelated components of an open access offshore wind transmission solution, including: upgrades to the existing grid to facilitate the offshore wind energy injections; extension of the onshore transmission grid closer to offshore wind locations; optimal landfall approaches to reduce environmental impacts, and any necessary offshore substations; and interconnections between offshore substations, sometimes called a transmission ‘backbone,’ to provide benefits of a networked offshore grid.
After the solicitation window closes on 13 August 2021, NJBPU and PJM will evaluate submissions to determine which, if any, combination of project proposals can meet the state’s offshore wind policy goals.
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