The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) and regional electricity grid operator PJM Interconnection have announced the commencement of a State Agreement Approach (SAA) solicitation for offshore wind transmission solutions. The commencement of the SAA includes New Jersey in the competitive solicitation process in PJM’s existing planning framework to explore options for developing transmission solutions for offshore wind energy.
The SAA enables a state or group of states to propose a state-initiated project to assist in realising public policy requirements, as long as it agrees to pay all costs of the state-selected buildout included in the Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (RTEP). The transmission component options include grid-to-onshore substations, onshore substations to offshore collector farms, and an offshore transmission ‘backbone’.
Following NJBPU’s request, PJM will include New Jersey’s needs for offshore wind-related transmission improvements in a competitive proposal window set to open in the first quarter of 2021. Transmission developers may submit proposals to address the state’s goal of facilitating the necessary infrastructure to deliver the target of up to 7.5 GW of offshore wind over the next 15 years.
REGlobal‘s Views: The state of New Jersey has set an ambitious goal of 7,500 MW of offshore wind energy by 2035. Government agencies and utilities are making every possible effort to facilitate the achievement of this target.
