Blackstone company says it submitted New Jersey offshore wind transmission bid

Atlantic Power Transmission said Dec. 1 that it has submitted a bid to develop an offshore wind power transmission project that can deliver up to 3.6 GW by connecting to a substation in central New Jersey as part of a joint solicitation with PJM Interconnection.

PJM has received 80 proposals for onshore and offshore transmission projects that would help New Jersey meet its goal of delivering 7.5 GW of offshore wind power capacity by 2035, including the bid from Atlantic Power Transmission, which is part of private equity firm Blackstone's portfolio of companies.

The state also has a 100% clean energy by 2050 goal.

"We are excited to support New Jersey's offshore wind efforts and are proud to partner with the New Jersey union coalition," Sean Klimczak, global dead of infrastructure at Blackstone, said in a statement.

"Blackstone Infrastructure has a proven track record and commitment to long-term partnerships, and we look forward to continuing with this transformative and innovative clean energy development project," Klimczak said.

The entire route of the project will use underground electric transmission lines to minimize social and environmental impacts, with the project entering onshore at an existing industrial site chosen to avoid disrupting New Jersey's beachfront communities, the company said.

Following a request from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, PJM opened a Regional Transmission Expansion Plan proposal window to solicit submissions to build the necessary transmission to meet New Jersey's offshore wind goal.

The submission window was open April 15 to Sept. 17 and PJM accepted bids from existing transmission owners and non-incumbent merchant developers with 57 submissions that included voluntary commitments to cap costs, according to PJM.

A total of 13 companies or subsidiaries submitted bids, PJM said in a summary presentation.

Some projects involve upgrades to existing facilities, while others proposed greenfield development.

Forty-five of the proposals ask to upgrade existing onshore transmission facilities, 22 propose new transmission interconnection facilities, 26 propose new offshore transmission interconnection facilities, and eight of them propose offshore transmission networks.

Atlantic Power said it has partnered with the New Jersey union coalition, including Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, International Union of Operating Engineers Locals 825 and 25 and Iron Workers Local 399.

"New Jersey is uniquely positioned as a hub for offshore wind, and we are pleased that our skilled tradespersons are at the forefront of this exciting movement to bring greater energy sustainability to our State," William Sproule, executive secretary-treasurer of the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, said.

Next steps

PJM and the NJBPU will evaluate the project proposals, with the state retaining the right to choose whether to move forward with any projects.

PJM's proposal review will run from the third quarter of 2021 to Q3 2022, while the NJBPU and its consultants will review the projects from Q1 2022 to Q3 2022, according to the NJBPU's process overview document.

The NJBPU will make its decision sometime between the third and fourth quarter of 2002.