Ocean Wind and the developers of New Jersey’s first offshore wind project, and steel pipe manufacturer EEW, are one step closer to opening New Jersey’s first offshore wind manufacturing facility as they broke ground on April 19 on the EEW monopile manufacturing facility at the Port of Paulsboro Marine Terminal in Gloucester County.
The start of construction marks a significant milestone in delivering the largest industrial offshore wind manufacturing facility in the U.S. to date.
Construction will be completed under a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with the South Jersey Building Trades Council, ensuring that jobs created during the construction phase will be filled by local New Jersey union tradesmen and women.
Construction activities include clearing and grading of the 70-acre site, reinforcement to increase quayside bearing capacity to accommodate the 2,500-ton monopiles, and the construction of two large buildings that will support circumferential welding, sandblasting, and painting.
In effort to deliver the most economic benefits to the state, EEW has contracted with more than 30 New Jersey companies in support of design, permitting, site work and concrete.
Once complete, the state-of-the-art facility will manufacture monopiles to supply the 1,100 MW Ocean Wind farm off the coast of southern New Jersey. EEW’s facility will create as many as 260 jobs during the first phase of construction and manufacturing.
The facility is a key asset for the state, and in addition to supplying Ocean Wind, will serve the rapidly progressing U.S. offshore wind industry for years to come.