New Jersey vacates orders concerning Ørsted's scrapped projects

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) on Wednesday formally vacated its orders with respect to the 1,100-W Ocean Wind 1 and 1,148-MW Ocean Wind 2 offshore wind projects, which Ørsted A/S (CPH:ORSTED) decided to scrap development of in 2023.

This follows a settlement that the state of New Jersey and the company reached in May, under which New Jersey will receive USD 125 million (EUR 113m). In its interim results on Thursday, Ørsted said the claim with the state of New Jersey was settled with a better outcome than assumed. The company recorded a provision reversal of DKK 1.6 billion (USD 236m/EUR 214m) relating to Ocean Wind 1 settlements.

NJBPU vacated orders that designated the projects as Qualified Offshore Wind Projects, as well as orders that granted the Ocean Wind 1 project property easements in Ocean City and Cape May County.

Cape May County Commission Director Len Desiderio said the decision marks an important day in the ongoing opposition to “these environmentally destructive offshore wind projects.”

“The vacation of these orders by the BPU means that it will be much more difficult for Ørsted or any other Big Wind company to utilise these lease areas just a few miles off Cape May County beaches,” Desiderio added in a news announcement. He referred to the blade breakage at the Vineyard Wind project in Nantucket, Massachusetts and the resulting debris as demonstrating the risks to the environment and the economy from offshore wind parks.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.908)

(DKK 1 = USD 0.148/EUR 0.134)

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