December 23, 2022 — Relentless Inc., Huntress Inc., and Seafreeze Fleet LLC, corporations operating in the herring fishery off the coast of New England, have filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Loper Bright Enterprises’ petition for a writ of certiorari in Loper Bright Enterprises, et al. v. Raimondo, et al. These Rhode Island small businesses urge the Supreme Court to review this case to (1) resolve the circuit split in how Chevron deference applies to agency actions under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA); and (2) halt a regulation which allows the Nationalarine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to charge fishermen unlawfully for a government function Congress has not approved and apparently does not believe to be worth spending Americans’ tax dollars on. The New Civil Liberties Alliance represents amici here as parties in Relentless Inc., et al. v. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, et al., now pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Wind developers’ tightening financials call New England project into question
December 23, 2022 — Developers of the 1,223-megawatt Commonwealth Wind offshore wind project are asking Massachusetts energy regulators to cancel their review of power purchase agreements, saying the contracts and changing world economic conditions make the project no longer viable.
Developers Avangrid have cited the war in Ukraine, interest rates, supply chain constraints, and persistent inflation – plus the escalating cost of wind turbines – for upending their cost projections and ability to finance the project.
Since Avangrid made its initial requests to renegotiate, electric power distributors Eversource Energy, National Grid and Unitil have refused to budge. Avangrid submitted its request to cancel the power contracts review Dec. 16, and said it plans to resubmit a bid into the Massachusetts power solicitation process in April 2023.
Pingtan Marine, Chinese government, NGOs respond to US sanctions
December 22, 2022 — A Chinese government spokesperson has assailed U.S. sanctions against two Chinese distant-water fishing firms as evidence of “double standards.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning, responding on 9 December to a question from TASS, the Russian news service, rejected allegations of human rights abuses onboard Chinese fishing vessels and China said punitive actions taken by the U.S. against Pingtan Marine and Dalian Ocean Fishing represented interference in the country’s internal affairs.
UK seafood industry secures additional GBP 282 million in fishing opportunities
December 22, 2022 — The U.K. fishing industry has secured an additional 140,000 metric tons (MT) of fishing opportunities worth GBP 282 million (USD 341.8 million, EUR 326.4 million) for 2023 through a fisheries accord reached with the European Union.
The U.K. and E.U. reached an agreement on catch levels for 69 fish stocks, including some of the most commercially-valuable stocks to the U.K. fishing industry, such as North Sea nephrops, worth GBP 54 million (USD 65.5 million, EUR 62.5 million); anglerfish, worth GBP 31 million (USD 37.6 million, EUR 35.9 million); and western hake, worth GBP 25 million (USD 30.3 million, EUR 28.9 million).
Lobster legislation a ‘Christmas miracle’ for Maine’s industry – if it passes
December 22, 2022 — Maine’s congressional delegation has perhaps never been so united as it was in adding a provision to the massive government spending bill that they believe could save the lobster industry from economic ruin.
Lawmakers in Washington are working feverishly this week to pass the omnibus appropriations bill that would fund federal agencies through the next fiscal year. The current stopgap spending measure expires Friday. Maine’s delegation succeeded in adding a rider to the bill that would protect Maine lobstermen for six years from federal regulations they claim could decimate the state’s iconic industry and coastal economy. Environmental groups, however, contend the provision announced Tuesday could wipe out the endangered North Atlantic right whales.
The rider would essentially reverse a federal court decision this summer on new lobstering regulations by preventing them from taking effect until Dec. 31, 2028.
This would not only bring the fishery back into compliance with environmental laws but would also give fishery officials and researchers time to study potential new types of lobster gear less likely to entangle the whales, and to learn more about them and how much they frequent Maine waters.
MASSACHUSETTS: Baker leaves Healey, state with new emissions plan
December 22, 2022 — By the year 2050, the Baker administration envisions virtually all of the state’s more than five million light-duty vehicles will run on electric power instead of fossil fuels, 80 percent of Massachusetts homes will be heated and cooled with electric heat pumps, and the statewide electrical infrastructure will be able to handle two and a half times more load than in 2020.
Those are some of the key benchmarks in a new climate and clean energy plan Gov. Charlie Baker’s secretariat published Wednesday, outlining sector-specific emissions reduction targets and policy steps that will help Massachusetts achieve the legally required target of achieving net-zero statewide carbon emissions by the middle of the century.
The 2050 plan, which the Baker administration released on its way out the door of state government, seeks to formalize and expand a range of tactics already in play, leaning heavily on electrifying the transportation and building sectors and expanding clean energy sources such as offshore wind.
Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Beth Card said the 192-page document “represents the commonwealth’s comprehensive and aggressive plan to achieve net-zero cost effectively and equitably.”
“To successfully achieve net zero in 2050, it is essential to transition our electricity system to clean energy and make Massachusetts transportation and buildings more energy-efficient and electrify those sectors,” Card told reporters. “This effort will have significant implications for our economy, which is why we must engage closely with other state agencies, municipalities, businesses and residents.”
“Really, this plan is a comprehensive sort of capture of what we think needs to happen next,” Card later added.
MASSACHUSETTS: Baker announces offshore wind awards — millions coming to New Bedford, Somerset projects
December 22, 2022 — As Gov. Charlie Baker’s time in office comes to a close, one of his final official acts is on a topic that has been a top priority for his administration: clean energy — specifically the Offshore Wind Ports Challenge to support the development of offshore wind power.
“Today, we’re going to announce $180 million worth of awards,” Baker said Tuesday.
Baker, along with Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Energy Secretary Bethany Card announced recipients of the Offshore Wind Ports Challenge Tuesday inside the Technology Testing Center Large Blade Facility in Charlestown. The Offshore Wind Ports Infrastructure Investment Challenge is a competitive funding opportunity opened earlier in the year which seeks to expand and develop port infrastructure at three key harbors along the Massachusetts coast: New Bedford, Somerset and Salem.
“The 2050 decarbonization roadmap makes offshore wind a centerpiece of our approach to achieve net zero,” Card said.
The awarded money is going to a variety of firms that are working on the infrastructure component of making Massachusetts’ clean energy goals a reality.
Markey, Moulton push for national fund to compensate fishermen for losses due to offshore wind
December 22, 2022 — With both offshore wind development and dissent from fishing groups ramping up along the East Coast, Senator Ed Markey and Congressman Seth Moulton announced a plan Wednesday to establish a national fund to compensate potential economic loss suffered by the fishing industry.
Currently there is no federal framework that requires offshore wind developers to compensate fishermen for potential damages. Those include gear loss, habitat degradation, loss of historic fishing grounds and new fishing restrictions in areas leased for wind farms — all of which compound, fishermen say, to spell serious economic challenges to their industry.
In the absence of such compensation requirements, some developers have established their own funds, with their own oversight panels. Other developers have not yet established a compensation plan. Fishing groups have been critical of this approach, saying the government’s lack of clear requirements gives the offshore wind industry the upper hand in compensation negotiations, leaving it up to the fishermen to prove the impact on their livelihoods and up to developers to decide the extent to which they are responsible.
“Any ability left to the wind developers to choose their own procedures will always result in their taking the least expensive path most favorable to them, not commercial fishing,” the New Bedford Port Authority wrote in a letter to the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in August.
Wind industry group says turbine restrictions for whales could threaten commercial viability of projects
December 21, 2022 — An organization that represents and lobbies for the wind industry has warned that a recommendation from federal scientists to limit turbines in offshore lease areas to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale could threaten the commercial viability, efficiency and utilities contracts for some projects.
Climate change is affecting the whale and its prey, according to researchers. And offshore wind, which the Biden administration has called on to address the climate crisis, might add to existing stressors from the noise created during construction and operation, to the turbine impacts on currents and prey distribution.
In a letter first published by The Light last month, NOAA scientist Sean Hayes proposed establishing a “conservation buffer” zone or turbine-free area overlapping with wind development planned in Southern New England. But the American Clean Power Association (ACP), which represents the wind industry, said such a buffer would cause the removal of a “significant number” of turbines from several projects.
Baker outlines plans to beef up ports to develop offshore wind farms
December 21, 2022 — The Baker administration on Tuesday announced $180 million in infrastructure funding for projects designed to support the state’s burgeoning offshore wind industry.
In a press conference held at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Wind Technology Testing Center in Charlestown, Governor Charlie Baker and top climate aides also provided updates on the state’s clean energy industry, which has been a priority for Baker during his tenure on Beacon Hill.
“I’m proud of the work we’ve done over the past 8 years, but it remains an urgent priority for the Commonwealth, for the country, and frankly, for the world,” said Baker. “I do believe, however, we are very well positioned to be a major player in this space.”
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