Belgian offshore wind transmission specialist joins New Jersey project

NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic (NEETMA), a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Transmission, and WindGrid, a subsidiary of Elia Group, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation on a New Jersey offshore wind transmission project.

Under the MoU, the companies will work together on the development and construction of offshore wind transmission infrastructure in New Jersey if a proposal by NEETMA is selected by the State’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU).

The North American transmission company has submitted a number of proposals to the BPU in response to a call that yielded 80 proposals, as reported by the BPU earlier this year.

NEETMA says that its proposals, collectively called the NJ Seawind Connector, offer New Jersey multiple solutions that would collectively deliver the greatest offshore wind power with the least impact to the environment and local communities.

With WindGrid, NEETMA can tap into Elia Group’s offshore experience in both the North and Baltic Seas, where Elia has so far connected 13 offshore wind farms to onshore grids and is operating three subsea cable interconnections. The Belgium-headquartered transmission system operator is also working on new projects such as hybrid interconnectors and energy islands.

“WindGrid and its parent Elia Group are leaders in the engineering, construction and operation of offshore electric transmission projects and we’re pleased to be collaborating with them on our New Jersey proposals”, said Matt Valle, president, NextEra Energy Transmission. “We believe we are well-positioned to help New Jersey achieve its clean energy goals and we look forward to working with all stakeholders on making this important project a success”.

“We believe our offshore wind transmission experience will provide valuable insights and provide meaningful benefits if the NEETMA project is selected by the BPU. Thanks to our industry-leading position in offshore electric transmission, we have access to and relationships with an extensive network of technical equipment suppliers with whom we collaborate to ensure we are integrating the latest technical innovations into each of our projects. Working with NEETMA, we expect to make a meaningful contribution to accelerating the energy transition in New Jersey”, said Markus Laukamp, CEO of WindGrid.

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