2020 New Jersey Guide_Site Selection

R E G I O N A L E C O S Y S T E M S – S O U T H N E W J E R S E Y
Atlantic City:
Winds of Change
CASE STUDY:
NJ Wind Port in Salem County
In June, Governor Phil Murphy announced a $300-400 million plan to develop
the New Jersey Wind Port, a first-in-the-nation infrastructure investment that will
provide a location for essential staging, assembly, and manufacturing activities
related to offshore wind projects on the East Coast.
The New Jersey Wind Port will be located in Lower Alloways Creek Township, on an
artificial island on the Delaware River’s eastern shores, southwest of the City of Salem.
After a 22-month assessment process, the site was selected, including engagement
with industry, government and environmental stakeholders.
With construction set to begin in 2021, the Wind Port has the potential to create
up to 1,500 manufacturing, assembly, and operations jobs, as well as hundreds of
construction jobs.
“Offshore wind is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to not only protect our
environment but also greatly expand our state economy in a way that has immediate
impacts and paves the way for long-term growth,” said Governor Murphy. “The New
Jersey Wind Port will create thousands of high-quality jobs, bring millions of investment
dollars to our state, and establish New Jersey as the national capital of offshore wind.
This is a vital step forward in achieving our goal of reaching 7,500 megawatts of
offshore wind power by 2035 and 100 percent clean energy by 2050.”
When launched, the New Jersey Wind Port will provide a major economic boost
to Salem County located in South Jersey, as well as the state economy. The offshore
wind projects slated for development along the East Coast over the next decade
are expected to require more than $100 billion of capital investment, creating an
opportunity for significant economic growth. New Jersey’s location at the heart of the
East Coast wind belt, commitment to supporting offshore wind, and diverse and highly
skilled workforce put the state in a strong position to capitalize on this opportunity.
Atlantic City Boardwalk
Photo courtesy of Meet AC
by SAVANNAH KING
Atlantic City’s iconic boardwalk has
drawn tourists to the city since it was
first constructed in 1870. Home to fivestar
restaurants, casinos, and the best
beachfront in the Garden State, the seaside
gaming and resort capital of the East Coast
attracts 27 million visitors each year.
In recent years, Atlantic City has shifted
from a beach town to a town and gown
community.
Quickly emerging as a hub for aviation
innovation, the National Aviation Research
and Technology Park (NARTP), a nonprofit
auxiliary organization of Stockton University,
is currently being constructed to facilitate
R&D and commercialization of new
technologies. At full build-out, the National
Aviation Research and Technology Park
(NARTP) will consist of seven multistory
buildings with high-speed connectivity to
“Ocean Wind will ensure that the state and its residents
not only benefit from clean, renewable power but that
they reap the rewards of being an early player in the
offshore wind industry as it grows in the U.S.
”
— Thomas Brostrøm, CEO of Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind and President of Ørsted North America
the William J. Hughes Technical Center
(WJHTC) laboratories that replicate the
National Airspace System (NAS).
The city’s unique coastal lifestyle is now
available to students of Stockton University. In
2018, Stockton University opened its Atlantic
City to its first students. The campus includes
residential housing overlooking the beach and
the Boardwalk, an academic center and a parking
garage. The Atlantic City campus offers a shuttle
service to the main campus in Galloway.
In October, the university broke ground on
Phase II of construction, which will include a
new 6-story, 416-bed residence hall. It is being
developed as a public/private partnership by
the non-profit Atlantic City Development
Corp, or AC Devco, which also developed the
2018 Gateway Project that includes Stockton
Atlantic City and South Jersey Gas.
CATCHING A COASTAL BREEZE
The site of the state’s first offshore wind
project is located just 15 miles off Atlantic
City’s coast. In 2019, Ørsted U.S. Offshore
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NEW JERSEY: THE STATE OF INNOVATION 57