ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A company that has already received preliminary approval to build a wind farm off the southern coast of New Jersey is planning a second project.

       Atlantic Shores, a joint venture between EDF Renewables North America and Shell New Energies US, already has approval from New Jersey regulators to build a wind farm about 8.7 miles off the coast.

       But in a construction plan filed with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Atlantic Shores revealed it is planning a second such project, one it has not publicly announced.

       That project could be considered in the next round of offshore wind project solicitations by New Jersey regulators in the third quarter of 2022.

       “Atlantic Shores’ second project, Project 2 ... is being developed to support these future New Jersey solicitations,” the company wrote in its filing.

       The company has not said how many megawatts of power the second project might provide.

       It did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

       The company envisions power lines coming ashore at Sea Girt in Monmouth County, and in Atlantic City for one or more projects.

       Thus far, New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities has approved three offshore wind energy projects: two by Danish wind developer Orsted, and one by Atlantic Shores.

       Those three projects combined aim to provide enough electricity to power over 1.6 million homes. New Jersey has set a goal of generating 100% of its energy from clean sources by 2050, and plans to solicit additional wind energy projects every two years until at least 2028.

       In addition, a Massachusetts company plans to build a high-voltage line to bring electricity from a future New Jersey offshore wind farm onto land, and connect it to the power grid. Anbaric, of Wakefield, Massachusetts, has already obtained several permits from New Jersey environmental regulators for what it calls its Boardwalk Power Link project.

       The federal government said Tuesday evening it will conduct environmental studies of both projects proposed by Atlantic Shores. It previously announced the same review for the two projects to be built by Orsted.

       "Offshore wind holds enormous potential for our nation, and the wind resources offshore New Jersey are no exception,” said U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. “As we kick off this process, the department will continue to do our part to ensure the development of our offshore renewable energy resources is done responsibly and sustainably.”

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