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The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has vacated the offshore renewable energy certificate (OREC) order issued in 2021, which approved the 1,509.6 MW Atlantic Shores Project 1 as a Qualified Offshore Wind Project (QOWP), as per the request recently filed by the developer.
Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, a joint venture between EDF Renewables and Shell, which Shell paused its involvement in at the beginning of 2025, submitted a request to terminate its OREC contract in June, citing the recent withdrawal of the project’s Air Permit for further review as one of the key reasons.
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The developer, which planned to make a final investment decision on the project this year, noted that it was uncertain when the Air Permit (legally required for the project to proceed to construction) could be reinstated, as the Presidential Memorandum, under which the permit was remanded for further review, does not clearly define timeframe(s) for the the additional assessments it seeks.
In its petition to vacate the OREC order, the developer stated that, due to this uncertainty, it had paused its construction schedule, including cancelling its interconnection service agreement with PJM Interconnection and pausing transmission upgrades.
Atlantic Shores was issued an OREC order for the Atlantic Shores Project 1 in the second offshore wind solicitation in New Jersey, launched in 2020 and completed with OREC agreements signed in 2021.
The OREC contract was awarded for the first Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm , with the stipulation that the first phase of the offshore wind farm (761.6 MW) would start producing electricity by September 2027 and the remaining 748 MW would reach commercial operation by April 2028.