Wind Farm Off LBI Hits Pause; Can't Find Turbine Blades

LONG BEACH ISLAND, NJ — An offshore wind farm planned off the coast of Long Beach Island is taking a brief pause as developers seek necessary parts.

Leading Light Wind, which will be 40 miles off Long Beach Island, was granted a pause through Dec. 20 by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) as the developers try to find someone to manufacture turbine blades, according to an Associated Press report.

Developed by Chicago-based Invenergy and New York-based energyRE, Leading Light Wind would have up to 100 turbines, enough to power 1 million homes.

It was approved by the BPU this past January. However, one of three major turbine manufacturers, GE Vernova, said it would not announce the kind of turbine needed in the project, the Associated Press reported. The other two manufacturers had turbines either unsuitable for the project or too expensive, according to the report.

“The stay enables continued discussions with the BPU and supply chain partners regarding the industry-wide market shifts,” Invenergy said in a statement. “We will continue to advance project development activities during this time.”

“We are committed in New Jersey to our offshore wind goals,” BPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy said. “This action will allow Invenergy to find a suitable wind turbine supplier. We look forward to delivering on the project that will help grow our clean energy workforce and contribute to clean energy generation for the state.”