The nation’s largest offshore wind farm is one step closer to reality off the Jersey Shore.

On Friday, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities granted the state’s first award for offshore wind to the Danish energy company Ørsted and Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) for the proposed 1,100-megawatt Ocean Wind project.

Ocean Wind, which would be built in federal waters 15 miles offshore of Atlantic City, is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 500,000 homes, according to the NJBPU.

It is also expected to generate $1.17 billion in economic benefits and create about 15,000 jobs over the life of the project.

The NJBPU’s decision marks the largest single award for an offshore wind project in the nation to date, according to the state.

Gov. Phil Murphy declared this will “revolutionize” the offshore wind industry along the East Coast.

“This is a big deal for New Jersey,” the Democratic governor said at an unrelated news conference in Trenton. “It is a big deal in particular for South Jersey.”

Curtis Fisher, the northeast regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation, called the move “the single largest victory for renewable energy in New Jersey history.”

Further federal and state permits still need to be obtained for the project, according to Ørsted spokeswoman Lauren Burm. Still, Ocean Wind is expected to be operational in 2024 according to the company.

Electric bills for residential customers in New Jersey are expected to increase about $1.46 per month to support the project, according to the NJBPU. That increase would begin when Ocean Wind becomes operational.

Jeff Tittel, the director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, praised the Ocean Wind project as the first utility-sized offshore wind facility in the nation and compared it to the Meadowlands Power Plant, a controversial natural gas plant that has been proposed in Hudson County.

“This will help reduce (greenhouse gas) emissions such as (carbon dioxide) by 3 million tons, which is around what the Meadowlands Power Plant would emit,” Tittel said. "We would rather have offshore wind, than a polluting natural gas power plant.”

Electricity generated by Ocean Wind and other future offshore wind farms will need to be brought onto land to connect with the regional power grid. The Murphy administration, and environmental groups like the New Jersey Sierra Club, hope that the closed B.L. England generating station — a former coal-fired power plant in Upper Township — will serve as the first connection point.

Developing offshore wind is a major part Murphy’s plan to boost clean energy in the Garden State. The Governor has called for New Jersey to develop 3,500 megawatts of wind power by 2030. Ocean Wind is just one step towards that goal; Murphy has also asked the NJBPU to solicit 1,200 megawatt projects in 2020 and 2022.

Murphy’s larger goal is for New Jersey to get 100% of its power from clean energy by 2050 in order to slash greenhouse gas emissions and lower the state’s contribution to global climate change. Last week, the NJBPU unveiled a draft of the state’s 2019 Energy Master Plan — a document billed by the Murphy administration as the “initial blueprint” to achieving that goal.

Read the NJBPU’s full order approving the Ocean Wind project below:

NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report.

Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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