Lawsuit slams subsidies for Ørsted's Ocean Wind 1 off New Jersey

A lawsuit was filed last week claiming that subsidies for Danish developer Ørsted’s (CPH:ORSTED) 1.1-GW Ocean Wind 1 project offshore New Jersey are unconstitutional.

The legal action, announced on July 28, has been undertaken by local activist groups Protect Our Coast NJ and Defend Brigantine Beach. It targets legislation signed by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy earlier in July that allows Ocean Wind 1 to access federal tax credits.

“The Legislature’s giveaway of federal tax credits to Ørsted benefits a single company in violation of the New Jersey Constitution,” said Bruce Afran, counsel for the two groups.

According to the organisations, Ørsted was awarded nearly USD 1 billion (EUR 907m) in federal tax credits via the legislation, which reversed a 2019 order that required the developer to refund the tax credits to ratepayers. The additional credits are intended to help the company overcome inflation and supply chain issues and enable the completion of the project.

Ocean Wind 1 will be New Jersey’s first offshore wind project. It was approved by the US Department of the Interior in early July.

Separately, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) Board last week approved a sublease of up to 34 acres of property at the New Jersey Wind Port (NJWP) to Ørsted Wind Power North America, LLC, which will be the NJWP’s inaugural tenant.

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