Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC FTAI

Companies to develop a New Shovel-Ready Site at Repauno Port & Rail Terminal, subject to BPU approval of the Outerbridge Renewable Connector project

Will Strengthen New Jersey's Position as a Manufacturing Hub for the Growing U.S. Offshore Wind Industry and Create Hundreds of Good-Paying Local Jobs

GREENWICH TOWNSHIP, N.J., April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rise Light & Power (Rise) and Delaware River Partners LLC (DRP) today announced an historic partnership to position New Jersey as a leading manufacturing hub in the growing offshore wind industry.

As part of its Outerbridge Renewable Connector project, Rise announced it is prepared to invest millions to develop a shovel-ready site for a submarine cable manufacturing facility at DRP-owned Repauno Port & Rail Terminal in Greenwich Township (Repauno). 

The proposed submarine cable manufacturing facility will have a footprint of approximately 30 acres, along with dock access.  Upon approval of the Outerbridge Renewable Connector project, pending before the BPU, Rise and DRP will commence development and permitting work to make the site shovel-ready and to attract an offshore cable manufacturer, who would ultimately construct and operate the facility.  Submarine cable manufacturing facilities of similar size typically generate approximately 500 jobs during construction and over 100 good-paying, full-time jobs during operations.

"This opportunity will bolster New Jersey's leadership in offshore wind with a major investment to create good-paying jobs and become a national supply chain leader," said Clint Plummer, CEO of Rise Light & Power. "The Outerbridge Renewable Connector will revitalize and repurpose infrastructure to meet New Jersey's bold clean energy goals. We are excited about this partnership with Delaware River Partners."

"We are proud to enter into a partnership with Rise Light & Power to develop New Jersey's first submarine cable manufacturing facility," said Hank Alexander, DRP's CEO. "The Repauno Port & Rail Terminal is an ideal location for this project. Conveniently situated along the Delaware River, we are accessible and fully capable of meeting the offshore wind industry's needs."

"Wind power is coming to Jersey. Atlantic Shores, Ocean Wind, New York Bight are underway and I'm sure others will follow. Submarine cables taking the power generated by offshore wind to the Rise Light & Power site for distribution is a sensible plan," said Senator Edward Durr, representing the District of New Jersey in which Repauno is located. "Manufacturing those submarine cable at Repauno is a great opportunity to bring good paying jobs to the Third Legislative District and help generate additional economic development in our community."

Vince Giovannitti, Mayor of Gibbstown said, "New Jersey's first cable manufacturing facility will inject new life into Greenwich Township's manufacturing sector and provide good-paying local jobs for our residents.  This is an ideal re-use of the former DuPont property and will be a driver of our local economy."

Upon hearing of the new effort to develop the facility in Gibbstown, Christina M. Renna, President & CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey (CCSNJ) said, "CCSNJ proudly welcomes this new partnership between Repauno Port & Rail and Rise Light & Power. Having a shovel-ready site will attract manufacturers to our region, paving the way for hundreds of new manufacturing jobs and connecting our community with the on-going clean energy transition in New Jersey."

With a demand for 800 to 1,000 miles of cable per year in the U.S. and growing, the addition of a new submarine cable manufacturing factory positions New Jersey as a critical link in the offshore wind supply chain to meet this growing demand. Currently, there is only one operational U.S. offshore wind cable manufacturing facility out of South Carolina. A typical offshore wind cable manufacturing plant may produce approximately 120 miles of cable per year, depending on size.

Rise and DRP will develop the site to be shovel-ready and collaborate to attract manufactures of two types of subsea cables required for offshore wind farms. First are inter-array cables that connect turbines within the offshore wind farm to an offshore substation, and the second are export cables that connect the offshore substation to the onshore grid.

Rise is committed to advancing a regional supply chain for offshore wind submarine cable manufacturing in the region, and Repauno is the first step in establishing the regional supply chain to support the growth of the offshore wind industry.

Rise's Outerbridge Renewable Connector is an innovative plan for turning the nearly 100-year-old retired coal-fired E.H. Werner power plant into a state-of-the-art clean energy hub to deliver renewable offshore wind energy, making it a valuable part of the South Amboy waterfront, contributing to the local tax base, and creating good-paying union jobs.   The site is located directly on the coastline with an existing substation and high-voltage transmission connection to the grid.  In contrast, many of the other substations proposed for offshore wind integration are located 10-20 miles from the coast, often directly adjacent to beach communities and Wildlife Management Areas, and requiring significant new infrastructure. Outerbridge is an innovative response to a joint call by the NJ Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) and the regional grid operator, PJM Interconnection, for qualified developers to submit potential transmission solutions that would help deliver offshore wind energy to the existing power grid. NJBPU and PJM will evaluate all submissions to determine which projects can meet the state's offshore wind policy goals. For more information, please visit www.outerbridgenj.com.

Rise Light & Power is a Queens, NY-based energy asset manager and developer. Its core asset, Ravenswood Generation Station, is New York City's largest power-generating facility, which provides more than 20 percent of New York City's generation capacity. In addition, Rise is pursuing an exciting growth-oriented strategy, including modernization and resiliency upgrades at Ravenswood Generation Station, as well as new large-scale clean energy infrastructure to facilitate the renewable energy transition taking place in New York State and New Jersey. Rise Light & Power is a wholly owned affiliate of LS Power. For more information, please visit www.riselight.com

Repauno Port & Rail Terminal is owned by Delaware River Partners and located on a 1,600-acre site along the Delaware River in Greenwich Township, New Jersey, one of the most active maritime markets in the nation.

Formerly the home of a DuPont manufacturing facility, the site is being redeveloped into a multi-use port facility for energy products, roll-on/roll-off, project cargo, bulk cargo, warehousing and logistics.  Its first dock opened in January 2021 and can handle all types of cargo.

Repauno offers tremendous logistical optionality as it sits directly on the Delaware River, served by Conrail with access to CSX and Norfolk Southern, and easy truck access to I-295 and I-95. Additionally, the site features a new multi-purpose dock with 40-foot draft, capable of safely handling a wide variety of products and available acreage with build-to-suit logistical solutions available for development.

To-date, more than $100 million in investments have been completed on the site, including rehabilitation of a hard rock cavern for storing bulk liquid/gases and construction of a state-of-the-art transloading system and deep-water dock.

Repauno is owned by Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC (NYSE: FTAI), which is externally managed by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC, a leading, diversified global investment firm.

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SOURCE Rise Light & Power