Source: NJ Biz

Excerpt:

New Jersey’s offshore wind industry apparently has recovered from an earlier setback and is on the move again. That setback was Ørsted’s decision last fall to scrap the first offshore wind projects, Ocean Wind 1 and 2. The company cited sector-related and broader economic challenges in its decision. But the move delivered a blow to the Murphy administration’s clean energy goals and led to litigation between the state and the Danish company.

In recent weeks, however, the Murphy administration settled the suit and announced a variety of offshore wind developments, including the acceleration of a fifth offshore wind solicitation.

“I don’t want to necessarily get into the nitty-gritty details – but we settled,” Gov. Phil Murphy told host Eric Landskroner during his News 12 New Jersey call-in show May 28. “And there’s some sense out there that Ørsted benefited from tax credits. They never did – not one penny. I’m still not happy – this was a significant bump in our offshore wind program.”

The company had deposited $200 million into escrow and posted an additional $100 million as a guarantee to build the project. That escrow figure is lower than the $300 million that was at the center of the discussion about this issue when Ørsted pulled the plug last year.

Read more: NJ’s offshore wind sector gets back on track