Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Biden team OKs another wind project off Martha’s Vineyard

December 23, 2024 — In the 11th hour, the Biden administration approved its 11th offshore wind project, SouthCoast Wind, greenlighting the installation of up to 141 turbines south of Martha’s Vineyard.

The project approval comes just ahead of the second Trump presidency, which, at worst, is expected to be hostile to offshore wind, and, at best, to slow progress and permitting that accelerated during the last four years.

The record of decision issued Friday is a joint decision by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, NOAA Fisheries, and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

US government finalizes its first aquaculture development plan in 40 years

December 17, 2024 — The White House National Science and Technology Council has finalized the federal government’s new aquaculture plan, the first in 40 years.

On 16 December, NOAA Fisheries revealed that the council had finalized the Strategic Plan for Aquaculture Economic Development, which outlines the government plans to invest in infrastructure, establish new research and development programs, and provide capitol to the domestic aquaculture sector.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US offshore wind developers look to higher prices amid election uncertainty

November 5, 2024 — Offshore wind energy developers already invested heavily in U.S. Atlantic waters are looking for new power purchase agreements with Northeast states, a quest complicated by uncertainty over the presidential election, the wind industry group Oceantic says in a new report.

“This slowdown comes at a critical time: states have reorganized their project portfolios after rising costs scrambled industry economics and are pushing hard for new offtake agreements,” Oceantic says in its recently published 2024 third quarter report. But the group says “the federal government has hit its stride in permitting advancements and has begun releasing Inflation Reduction Act funding. The market is primed for impressive growth.”

With support from the Biden administration, Northeast state governments and a determined permitting drive by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, BOEM has issued permits in various stages for 10 projects, according to the Oceantic report.

The group’s optimistic outlook came out just before a lackluster BOEM lease auction in the deepwater Gulf of Maine that drew $21.9 million in bids for four out of nine tracts offered. The prospects for developing arrays of floating wind turbines in the Northeast U.S. still depend on future development of suitable ports, infrastructure and technology.

Read the full article at WorkBoat

Biden administration announces USD 95 million for fish passage projects

November 5, 2024 — The U.S. government has announced another USD 95 million (EUR 87 million) in funding for new fish passage projects, some of which is specifically dedicated to Tribal priorities.

“These investments reflect a continuation of decades of work by NOAA Fisheries to recover threatened and endangered migratory fish and support the sustainability of commercial, Tribal, and recreational fisheries,” NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit said in a statement. “Our work with Tribal organizations to improve fish passage is vital for building long-term tribal capacity to sustain and manage culturally significant resources and habitats.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US chooses winning bids in first commercial sale for floating offshore Atlantic wind

October 29, 2024 — The U.S. government chose winning bids Tuesday to develop wind power off New England in the first commercial sale for floating offshore wind on the Atlantic coast.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held a lease sale and selected nearly $22 million in winning bids for four lease areas from two firms. The sale is a major step toward accelerating President Joe Biden’s goal of dramatically expanding offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.

Environmentalists praised the lease sale, though commercial fishermen who have questioned the expansion of offshore wind said they remain opposed. The lease areas are in the Gulf of Maine, which is a critical fishing ground for the U.S. lobster industry.

The awarding of the leases is “a critical step in our fight against climate change,” said U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

Read the full article at Associated Press

Biden administration auctions off Gulf of Maine wind energy leases to New England fishers’ dismay

October 29, 2024 — The U.S. Department of the Interior auctioned off the first offshore wind energy leases in the Gulf of Maine on 29 October, despite continued opposition from New England commercial fishers.

The auction included eight areas on the Outer Continental Shelf off the New England coast that winning bidders could develop for wind energy operations. The government claimed that if the leases are developed to their full capacity, the sites could generate 13 gigawatts of energy – enough to power 4.5 million homes.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Biden administration announces USD 220 million for coastal habitat restoration, resilience

July 26, 2024 — The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has recommended USD 220 million (EUR 203 million) in spending on coastal resilience and habitat restoration projects, with much of the money supporting salmon recovery efforts.

“These transformational projects will restore healthy coastal ecosystems across the country,” NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit said. “We’re proud to support projects that span a broad range of habitats and restoration techniques – from reconnecting rivers to their historic floodplains, to outplanting corals to rebuild reefs, to restoring salt marshes that will protect coasts from erosion and sea level rise.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Biden-Harris Administration announces nearly $220 million for transformational habitat restoration and coastal resilience projects

July 18, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is recommending nearly $220 million in funding, and an additional $66 million in future year funding, to support 32 transformational habitat restoration and coastal resilience projects as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. These funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act will build on decades of habitat work in priority watersheds and support innovative projects that implement cutting-edge restoration techniques and groundbreaking efforts that restore habitat in urban ecosystems to benefit underserved communities. 

“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to an ambitious climate agenda that strengthens our coastal communities, combats the climate and nature crises, and makes our nation and economy more resilient. This historic investment, made possible thanks to President Biden’s commitment to investing in America, will help sustain our nation’s fisheries across our coastal communities by strengthening climate resilience and protecting ecosystems from the impacts of climate change,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.

NOAA prioritized projects that demonstrated a broad base of partner and community support, inclusive practices and meaningful strategies to engage Tribal Nations and community groups, including underserved communities. 

“These transformational projects will restore healthy coastal ecosystems across the country,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “We’re proud to support projects that span a broad range of habitats and restoration techniques, from reconnecting rivers to their historic floodplains, to outplanting corals to rebuild reefs to restoring salt marshes that will protect coasts from erosion and sea level rise.”

Funding — including future year funding — is going to partners in the following states and territories: Alaska ($1.5 million), California ($46 million), Connecticut ($4 million), Florida ($29.1), Georgia ($2.8 million), Hawaii ($14.8 million), Louisiana ($10 million), Maine ($9 million), Maryland ($10 million), Massachachusetts ($15 million), Michigan ($15 million), North Carolina ($23.9 million), Oregon ($16.6 million), Pennsylvania ($9.5 million), Puerto Rico ($5 million), Texas ($8.2 million), U.S. Virgin Islands ($2.5 million), Virginia ($17.5 million), Washington ($28.5 million), Wisconsin ($3.2 million), and a multi-state project across Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas ($12 million). The Yurok Tribe, and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians are also receiving funds. 

These projects were selected through the Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience funding opportunity, and build on the $285 million awarded from BIL/IRA funds for 38 projects during the first round of this funding opportunity in 2023.

This funding supports President Biden’s America the Beautiful Initiative, a locally led and voluntary, nation-wide effort to conserve, connect and restore 30 percent of lands, waters and wildlife by 2030. This is a program covered by the Justice40 Initiative, which set the goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution 

NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation has a long history conducting habitat restoration by executing large-scale competitive funding opportunities and providing expert technical assistance through the Community-based Restoration Program. The program provides technical and financial assistance to partners across the country to develop high-quality habitat restoration projects that support our nation’s fisheries. Since its start in 1996, the program has helped implement more than 2,200 coastal habitat restoration projects — restoring more than 94,000 acres of habitat for fish and opening more than 4,400 stream miles for fish passage.

Please visit the NOAA Fisheries website to learn more about habitat restoration projects funded under the Bipartisan infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

Media contact:

James Miller, nmfs.pa@noaa.gov, (202) 579-4845

Wind power group foresees delay of Biden administration 30 GW goal

July 10, 2024 — Offshore wind market analysts forecast 14 gigawatts of capacity in U.S. waters by 2030 – halfway to the Biden administration’s goal 30 GW, but with $65 billion of investments on track to achieve it in 2033.

The American Clean Power Association (ACP) on July 9 released its 2024 Offshore Wind Market Report, predicting the renewable power industry iwill support 56,000 jobs in the United States. The report counts 12 GW of capacity to come from projects with active offtake agreements. Those include 4 GW now under construction: Vineyard Wind and Revolution Wind off southern New England, and the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.

“Across 37 leases in the U.S., there are now 56 GW (56,363 MW) of capacity under development, enough electricity to power the equivalent of 22 million homes,” the report states. “Market analysts forecast that there will be 14 GW of offshore wind deployed by 2030, 30 GW by 2033, and 40 GW online by 2035. These outlooks build on the 7.6 GW of offshore wind projects seeking to be operational by the end of 2027.”

Read the full article at WorkBoat

Feds taking public input on environmental impacts of offshore wind proposed in Gulf of Maine

July 8, 2024 — The Block Island wind farm off of Rhode Island is one of only two offshore wind projects currently operating in the U.S., but the Biden administration has a goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, and several states also have aggressive goals. Those targets, however, are threatened by surging costs and supply chain issues. (Scott Eisen | Getty Images)

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will hold public meetings and take comments this month on its draft environmental assessment for proposed offshore wind leases in the Gulf of Maine.

BOEM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, announced in April its proposal for an offshore wind energy auction. It would include eight leasing areas off the coasts of Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, with the potential to generate up to 15 megawatts of energy to power up to 5 million homes, according to BOEM.

Read the full article at Yahoo News!