The state of New Jersey is investing in a $ 250 million plant to build steel components, known as monopiles, for offshore wind turbines. It will serve the entire offshore wind industry in the United States.
New Jersey: a new leader in offshore wind energy
Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ), along with German steel tube maker EEW, the Danish wind giant Ørsted, legislators and members of the construction industry, announced the installation on Monday. It will be built at the Paulsboro Ferry Terminal in Gloucester County, South Jersey, and will create more than 500 well-paying jobs.
Murphy said:
Offshore wind energy is a unique opportunity in a generation that allows us to protect our environment while expanding and protecting the state’s economy in the short and long term. This is the largest industrial offshore wind investment in the United States to date and will create hundreds of well-paying jobs at a time when the New Jersey economy was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Construction of the facility will begin next month and production will begin in 2023.
In June 2020, Murphy announced plans to develop the New Jersey Wind Port at Lower Alloways Creek, the country’s first infrastructure investment that will provide a location for essential preparation, assembly and manufacturing activities related to offshore wind projects on the East Coast. The New Jersey Wind Port and the new manufacturing facility at the Paulsboro Ferry Terminal position New Jersey as a leader in the acquisition of offshore and green wind power.
Dan Cosner of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) 351 and South Jersey Building Trades said:
I am proud to be a part of this landmark event that will provide sustainable long-term jobs for the Southern New Jersey economy, while helping the governor meet his goals for his Energy Master Plan and providing another important project that provides green energy.
Monopillary foundations extend the turbine tower underwater and under the sea. Curious about how offshore wind farms are built? Check out this video:
Electrek’s Take
This is exactly the kind of thing that gets me excited when I write stories about green energy, and what I hope to see a lot more in the years to come.
New Jersey is creating long-term, well-paying jobs with this massive offshore wind manufacturing initiative. With the help of specialized companies in Europe, it is creating renewable components made in the USA that will facilitate the development of offshore wind farms in the USA.
I would love to see similar initiatives in areas previously fueled by fossil fuels in order to provide green energy jobs for these workers as well. This is what Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) identified as necessary in a bill she submitted in July to support communities that have suffered job losses as a result of the end of the coal industry.
Photo: EEW
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