Orsted, New Jersey reach settlement over canceled offshore wind farms

(Reuters) -New Jersey officials said the state will receive $125 million from a legal settlement with Denmark's Orsted over the company's cancellation last year of two offshore wind farm projects.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities said in a statement that the funds will be used for investments in wind component manufacturing facilities and wind farms.

The settlement comes nearly seven months after Orsted said it would stop developing the Ocean Wind 1 and 2 projects off the coast of New Jersey as it struggled with soaring costs and supply chain delays.

The cancellations triggered an angry response from New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who is banking on offshore wind to help achieve the state's climate change goals.

His administration said it would speed up the state's plans to procure additional offshore wind capacity by soliciting bids for new projects in the second quarter of 2025, more than a year ahead of schedule.

The utility regulator also said it would pause an offshore wind transmission planning effort with the regional power grid operator, PJM Interconnection, while it considers the impact of a new rule from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that reforms how large power lines are approved and paid for.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom, Editing by Franklin Paul and Marguerita Choy)