Eastern Seaboard Not Adequate to Accommodate Offshore Wind Resources | Transmission Watch Blog

The ambitious offshore wind goals of Eastern U.S. States will require significant investment in interconnecting transmission facilities. The transmission system in coastal areas along the Eastern Seaboard is not adequate to accommodate the ultimate build-out of offshore wind resources on the outer continental shelf.

Recognizing that a planned and coordinated approach could yield efficiencies with regard to development costs and schedule, along with minimizing the environmental impact, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) is working with PJM to solicit a comprehensive transmission solution to interconnect 7,500 MW of offshore wind resources to the New Jersey transmission system by 2035. As a PJM first, the NJBPU will use PJM’s State Agreement Approach to study the first public policy transmission need (PPTN) in PJM, solicit proposed transmission solutions, evaluate received proposals, and potentially select transmission project(s) for implementation.

Our Project Update section provides an update on the siting processes of different public policy transmission projects that are pending before the NY Public Service Commission (NYPSC). Evidentiary hearings for both segments of the AC Upgrade project were canceled and the NYPSC will decide on both Article VII siting applications based on the written record. The NYPSC is expected to grant a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN). In October, NYPA’s Northern NY “priority project” received accelerated NYPSC approval, three months after NYPA proposed the project.