New Jersey begins bidding process for 1.1GW of offshore wind FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailPrint分享The Press of Atlantic City:The state Board of Public Utilities voted unanimously Monday to open a bid process Sept. 20 for the nation’s largest solicitation of offshore wind energy.Companies will compete for ratepayer subsidy of construction costs and 20 years of operation costs for 1,100 megawatts of electric generation capacity, according to the BPU. The window to apply will close Dec. 28, and a decision on which projects will qualify for ratepayer subsidy will be made by July 1, 2019.That should give companies enough time to qualify for federal tax credits, due to expire at the end of 2019, said board President Joseph L. Fiordaliso. The tax credits will save ratepayers about 12 percent of the construction costs, he said.It’s the first step in meeting the state’s goal of 3,500 MW of offshore wind by 2030, Fiordaliso said, and of reaching 100 percent green energy for the state by 2050. Last week Gov. Phil Murphy called on the board to open two additional 1,200 MW solicitations of offshore wind capacity — one in 2020 and another in 2022.Fiordaliso said the solicitation asks companies to estimate a net economic benefit of their projects, compared to the costs to ratepayers. The BPU will provide a guidance document to help developers calculate net economic benefits. The bid — or bids — with the best mix of cost and economic benefit will be chosen for ratepayer subsidy of construction and operating costs, he said. All income from sale of electricity will be returned to ratepayers.Companies may apply to provide anywhere from 300 MW to the full 1,100 MW, he said. But each company must also provide data on what it would cost for it to provide 400 MW, so all companies can be compared on that measure.More: BPU opens bid solicitation for 1,100 MW of offshore wind
read more