March 10, 2022, Trenton, New Jersey — Porzio Governmental Affairs has secured its first offshore wind client, entering the burgeoning industry, the firm announced on Thursday. Porzio Governmental Affairs, based in Trenton, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Porzio, Bromberg, & Newman (Porzio), headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey.
The client is a joint venture between RWE Renewables, one of the globally leading companies in offshore wind, and National Grid, one of the largest energy companies pivotal to the energy systems in the United Kingdom and the north-eastern United States. Last month, in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) New York Bight auction, the joint venture secured area OCS-A 0539,with a winning bid of $1.1 billion. The awarded seabed off the coast of New Jersey has the potential to host three gigawatts (GW) of capacity, enough to power 1.1 million U.S. homes. The project is expected to be in operation toward the end of the decade.
On Wednesday, the client announced the official name of their joint venture, Community Offshore Wind. Community Offshore Wind is committed to delivering sustainable energy safely, reliably and efficiently to the communities that it serves. The name reflects the benefits it will bring to local communities, with the tagline, “Local clean energy for all.”
Porzio Governmental Affairs is well-renowned in both the State House and the community. The firm has decades worth of experience navigating the political and regulatory landscape both inside and outside of government. The client will be represented by Rebecca C. Lubot, Ph.D., M.Sc. Rebecca, a Director at Porzio Governmental Affairs who holds a master’s degree from the UK and a doctoral degree from NJ, will lead the firm’s governmental affairs, workforce development and coalition-building initiatives to support client needs in this space.
“Community Offshore Wind’s project presents an exciting opportunity to help meet federal and state climate goals while taking advantage of a diverse, home-grown talent pipeline. We look forward to working with Community Offshore Wind to engage with policy decision-makers, business leaders, and community stakeholders to ensure the project’s success from inception to completion,” stated Rebecca Lubot, Director, Porzio Governmental Affairs.
As a subsidiary of Porzio, the consultants and specialists of Porzio Governmental Affairs work closely with the lawyers to offer legal advice and expertise to governmental affairs clients, particularly in such areas as: environmental law; real estate; campaign and election law; state, county, and local Pay-to-Play rules; procurement protests and contract defense; general corporate matters; and many other areas.
“Given the natural synergy between our work in governmental affairs, our legal work, and Porzio’s long history of success in serving highly-regulated industries, Porzio is well-positioned to assist offshore wind and clean energy clients in furthering their business objectives,” said Vito A. Gagliardi, Jr., President of Porzio Governmental Affairs and Managing Principal of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C. “Renewable energy is an important growth industry in New Jersey and having the opportunity to serve this client puts us at the forefront of this new frontier.”
Serving the needs of more than 20 million people throughout New York and New England, National Grid will bring local expertise to New Jersey along with its experience developing large-scale infrastructure projects across the US and UK. As a developer of clean energy technologies in competitive markets, National Grid Ventures brings industry-leading subsea cable capabilities through its portfolio of electricity interconnectors that enable the sharing of renewable energy between the UK and Europe. National Grid Ventures recently launched the world’s longest subsea interconnector, North Sea Link, connecting the UK and Norway, and develops and operates onshore wind and solar assets in the US via its National Grid Renewables unit.
RWE is one of the world’s leading companies in offshore wind, active across the entire value chain, from project conception and development to construction as well as operation and maintenance and commercialisation. The unparalleled expertise the company has earned over the last 20 years has resulted in 17 wind farms in operation. The company recently successfully finished the installation of all turbines of the 857-megawatt offshore wind farm Triton Knoll off the English Coast. Two more projects, the 342-megawatt project Kaskasi, off the German island Heligoland, and the 1.4 GW project Sofia, one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world, are currently under construction.
| For further inquiries: | Tuyet Dorr [email protected] (973) 889-4279 |
Porzio Governmental Affairs
Porzio Governmental Affairs is a wholly owned subsidiary of Porzio, Bromberg, & Newman. At Porzio Governmental Affairs, we are committed to ensuring that our clients understand, prepare for and adapt to the fluid political landscape. We create opportunities for represented entities to take proactive positions on the issues that impact their interests. With strategic guidance, we connect our clients to key government leaders. Together, we shape the laws and regulations that affect our clients’ ability to succeed in the marketplace, in their professions and in advocating for their mission. For more information, visit www.porziogov.com.
About Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C.
Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C. is a New Jersey based, full-service law firm with additional offices in Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, and Puerto Rico. The firm has over 90 lawyers who are committed to serving clients, providing high-quality work, and achieving results through legal strategy, advocacy, technology, and consulting services offered through the law firm and its three wholly-owned subsidiary companies. For more information, visit www.pbnlaw.com.