Wind turbine project proposed in ocean off Atlantic County

New Jersey utility officials will soon start reviewing plans for a 25-megawatt offshore wind project off Atlantic City.

The state Board of Public Utilities last week formally accepted the application filed by EDF Renewables and Fishermen’s Energy LLC. The two firms plan to erect three wind turbines about 2.8 miles east of Atlantic City, known as the Nautilus Offshore Wind project.

The BPU is expected to review the proposal over the next few months and then decide whether to approve the project for immediate construction. But it’s not clear when that decision could be made.

If the project gets clearance, the two firms say it could be completed as soon as 2020 and begin generating power as early as 2021.

The firms say they expect to employ 600 workers for a year during the construction along with additional jobs for operations and maintenance.

“Our purpose with Nautilus is not just to deliver offshore wind power, but to leverage this initial build to help the New Jersey workforce quickly gain deep expertise in offshore wind in comparison with other states,” said Doug Copeland, EDF Renewables regional project manager, in a prepared statement.

Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration has set a goal of 3,500 megawatt offshore wind generation by 2030, or enough the power more than 1.5 million homes.

“With offshore wind poised to become one of the nation’s fastest growing production sectors, there is a real opportunity for New Jersey to lead the country in implementing future commercial scale projects faster and more cost effectively – all with a minimal impact on the ocean environment,” Copeland said.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.