A private developer aiming to build a multistate wind power backbone off the Atlantic Coast has selected New Jersey as the first phase of construction in its offshore underwater transmission line, a representative for the company confirmed.
Work on the New Jersey Energy Link transmission line would begin in 2016, the first of three phases, said a representative for the company, Atlantic Grid Development, which plans to make the announcement Tuesday. The New Jersey portion would be partly operational by 2019, the representative said.
The offshore high voltage cable project, called Atlantic Wind Connection, would link wind energy farms up and down New Jersey, connecting an estimated 3,000 megawatts of wind turbine electricity to power nearly 1 million households, according to the company website. The entire undertaking will take an estimated 10 years to complete, span 300 miles of state and federal waters and connect up to 7,000 megawatts of wind turbine electricity.