Supply Chain Problems Threaten Another New Jersey Offshore Wind Farm Plan

Supply chain problems have repeatedly been cited by wind farm developers as one of the problems they face and now another one of the first projects planned for New Jersey is asking for a pause in its planning process citing a lack of a manufacturer for its turbines and blades. The setbacks for the project known as Leading Light Wind is another issue for New Jersey which has faced repeated challenges in getting its offshore wind development pipeline going.

The project when it won state approval in January 2024 billed itself “as the largest competitively awarded offshore wind project in the U.S.” Being developed in a partnership between Invenergy and energyRe with investors including Blackstone Infrastructure the plan calls for a massive 2.4 GW wind farm to be located approximately 40 miles off the southern New Jersey coast. They won nearly 84,000 acres with a bid of $645 million in the highly competitive 2022 New York Bight auction. New Jersey selected it in January 2024 as one of two projects in its third-round solicitation which was billed as a restart after the disappointment when Ørsted canceled two large projects.

According to a July 2024 filing with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities seen by the Associated Press, Leading Light Wind says it is without a supplier for its turbines and blades. They are asking for a pause on the planning process till December 2024. They however promise to continue surveys and other preparations for its construction and operations plan while working to resolve the supply problem.

The project is citing the same problem that led New York to cancel selected projects in its previous solicitation round earlier this year. All the projects were planned for the GE Vernova large 18 MW turbine which was canceled in the spring of 2024. GE Vernova said it was focusing on its smaller “workhorse” turbines such as the 13 MW model. According to AP, Leading Light Wind in the filing says it is now without a viable turbine supplier. The project has decided supplier Vestas is “unsuitable,” and Siemens Gamesa reportedly told them there would be a significant price increase for the turbines.

A spokesperson for Leading Light Wind told AP the company requires additional time for discussions with the board and supply chain partners. 

It represents yet another setback for New Jersey which in July reported it only received three proposals in its last solicitation and that included one project, Atlantic Shores, which was seeking to reset a prior price agreement. Attentive Energy which was the other developer selected in January alongside Leading Light proposed a second phase and Community Wind resubmitted a reworked proposal for a project that was previously passed over in the selection process. The state said it would announce its steps forward by December.

New Jersey also announced plans to accelerate a scheduled third quarter 2026 round to mid-2025. The state has a goal of achieving 100 percent clean energy by 2035 and 11 GW of offshore wind installed by 2040, but so far has no wind projects approved and under construction.