The US government yesterday approved Danish energy company Ørsted’s plans to build the first-ever wind farm off the coast of New Jersey.

Ocean Wind I will be built off the coast of Atlantic City and will be able to generate 1.1GW of electricity from 98 turbines, enough to power some 380,000 homes.

Ocean Winds II and III may follow.

The US has been comparatively slow to exploit its offshore wind: Ocean Winds will be only the third project of its kind so far, after Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts and South Fork off Rhode Island.

However, the Biden administration has set a target of developing 30GW of offshore generation capacity by 2030.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the scheme. It’s part of the Department of the Interior.

Interior secretary Deb Haaland commented: “Since day one, the Biden-Harris administration has worked to jump-start the offshore wind industry across the country, and today’s approval for the Ocean Wind 1 project is another milestone in our efforts to create good-paying union jobs while combating climate change and powering our nation.”

The bureau said it will act to reduce the impact of wind farms on the marine environment and will create a compensation programme for fisheries.