Saving Seafood

Biden admin approves massive wind farm amid rising whale death toll

July 6, 2023 — The Biden administration is green-lighting a massive offshore wind farm off the coast of southern New Jersey despite calls for a pause on such development amid a spate of marine mammal deaths along the Atlantic Coast.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced Wednesday that it is approving the construction and operations plan for Ocean Wind 1, a 1,100-megawatt project that will be located 15 miles off the New Jersey coast, power 380,000 homes and enter commercial operations in 2025. The project will be made up of 98 wind turbines spread across a 68,450-acre lease area.

“Since Day One, the Biden-Harris administration has worked to jump-start the offshore wind industry across the country – and today’s approval for the Ocean Wind 1 project is another milestone in our efforts to create good-paying union jobs while combatting climate change and powering our nation,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.

Read the full article at Fox News

U.S. reviewing proposal for 2.4GW wind farm off the Massachusetts coast

July 1, 2023 — A proposed wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts with a potential to meet the energy demands of 850,000 homes is under an environmental review, the U.S. government said Thursday.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced the review process was under way for the 2.4 gigawatt facility proposed by Beacon Wind.

BOEM is advancing the Administration’s ambitious energy goals while remaining diligent in our efforts to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to ocean users and the marine environment,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein.

The Energy Department released a plan in March to meet President Joe Biden‘s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore energy by 2030, which would power 10 million homes.

Read the full article at UPI

BOEM Commences Regulatory Review of Eleventh Offshore Wind Farm Plan

Jul 1, 2023 — U.S. regulatory announced today that they are commencing the review of the eleventh offshore wind farm plan as efforts continue toward the goal of deploying 30 GW offshore wind energy capacity by 2030. The process is expected to run for about a year and could lead to a two-phase project that could produce a total of 2,430 megawatts of wind energy powering over 850,000 homes.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is starting the next phase in the process for Beacon Wind, which is being developed in a joint venture between Equinor and BP. This review comes as the first two commercial-scale offshore wind farms planned for the United States also started building their offshore assets. The U.S. is expected to have its first large commercial wind farms operating by the end of 2023.

“BOEM is advancing the administration’s ambitious energy goals while remaining diligent in our efforts to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to ocean users and the marine environment,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. She notes that the environmental review process seeks input from government partners, the fishing community, and other ocean users and includes public comments.

The Beacon Wind lease area is approximately 17 nautical miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and approximately 52 nautical miles east of Montauk, New York. The unique position means that the wind farm has the capabilities when completed to provide power to multiple locations in the Northeast United States. The current plan calls for the installation of up to 155 turbines, up to two offshore substation platforms, and up to two offshore export cables. They would make landfall in Astoria, in Queen County New York, and Waterford, Connecticut.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

Fishing, tourism dominate at Atlantic Shores public hearing

June 27, 2023 — Potential impacts on fishing, property values and tourism loomed large among critics of the Atlantic Shores offshore wind project during a virtual public hearing held by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

The online proceedings during more than five hours Monday pitted those views against project supporters, who focused on climate change and how it will affect the densely populated New Jersey coastline.

BOEM’s draft environmental assessment for the Atlantic Shores project off Atlantic City runs over 6,000 pages. Opponents are asking the agency to extend a 45-day public comment period past July 3, insisting the public needs more time to understand the proposal and its implications.

With turbines standing 574 feet above sea level at their rotor hubs and 1,047 feet high at the blade tips, the future visual impact – amply illustrated by simulated images in the DEIS document – is alarming seaside homeowners and the tourism industry.

“Frankly, all of us have bought a view,” said homeowner Paul Snyderman. “Everyone living at or near the shore has made an investment.”

BOEM workers said the DEIS document notes alternatives to reduce the visual impacts seen from shore. Removing 31 turbines from the array would move the first visible machines out from 8.7 nautical miles offshore to 12.75 miles, for example. Those options include restricting the height of turbines to 522 feet at the hubs and 932 feet at the blade tips.

The Atlantic Shores plan would cover some 885 acres of natural sandy bottom – habitat for scallops and surf clams – with rock dumped to protect turbine foundations, said Blair Bailey, general counsel for the Port of New Bedford, Mass. New Bedford is the top East Coast port for scallop landings, with Cape May and Barnegat Light, N.J., not far behind.

“No one has any idea what the impact of offshore wind with be on commercial fishing,” said Bailey, citing a joint report by the industry group Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, BOEM and NMFS issued in March.

Offshore wind advocates who see unreasonable fears among critics need to understand “the fishermen have a fear of uncertainty,” said Bailey.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

BOEM’s Atlantic Shores public sessions dilute, but don’t deter criticisms

June 24, 2023 — Local groups opposing New Jersey offshore wind projects hoped this week’s public meetings on the Atlantic Shores development would be a platform for voicing their strenuous objections.

But the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held the first session Wednesday evening in a highway Holiday Inn hotel in Manahawkin, N.J., in the style of an informal informational session, rather than a formal public hearing on its draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) on Atlantic Shores.

Dozens of visitors, many of them seaside residents from nearby Long Beach Island, made a circuit of poster presentations. Presentations on how turbines will be visible from the beach – and the project’s impact on marine mammals – attracted the most attention.

Some visitors went toe-to-toe debating with BOEM staffers and agency contractors about the DEIS findings. Others, who had hoped for publicly making their cases before an audience, were dismissive of the proceedings.

“Typically BOEM. Totally tone-deaf,” said Greg DiDomenico, a fisheries management specialist with Lund’s Fisheries in Cape May, N.J.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

OREGON: Oregon governor, lawmakers call for offshore wind pause

June 15, 2023 — Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and members of the state Congressional delegation called on the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to slow down its planning process for offshore wind energy projects and better evaluate their impact on the environment and Oregon’s economy.

“Many valid questions and concerns remain about floating offshore wind,” Kotek wrote in a June 9 letter to BOEM director Elizabeth Klein. “These must be addressed transparently before we can support proceeding further toward any substantial development decisions on the Oregon coast.”

The letter was also signed by Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Reps. Val Hoyle and Suzanne Bonamici, all Democrats. Their concern is a subtle but significant shift from generally strong support for the Biden administration’s wind energy priorities among Democratic leaders in coastal states.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MAINE: Maine Pols Beg Biden to Protect Fisheries as Offshore Wind Power Advances

June 13, 2023 — As offshore wind power continues its inexorable advance in the Gulf of Maine, Gov. Janet Mills and Maine’s Congressional Delegation are pleading with the Biden Administration to protect the interests of Maine’s local fisheries.

In a letter sent Monday to Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Elizabeth Klein, Gov. Mills, U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden submitted public comment to the federal agency concerning offshore wind development plans.

In the letter, Maine’s political leaders requested the avoidance of key lobstering areas for wind development, with a strong emphasis on minimizing conflicts between offshore wind projects and the fishing industry.

Their plea comes as a direct response to BOEM’s “Call for Information and Nominations” for potential commercial wind energy development in areas off the coasts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Read the full article at the Maine Wire

Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association testimony from recent BOEM task force meeting

May 26, 2023 — Testimony from MCFA’s Emily Coffin, Seafood and Fisheries Policy Coordinator, at BOEM’s Gulf of Maine Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting in Augusta on May 10-11.

My name is Emily Coffin, I’m a 5th generation fisherman out of Brunswick and work for the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. We are an industry-founded organization that advocates for fishing communities and we believe in stewarding our marine resources for a sustainable and vibrant fishing future.

I’m here today to express my concern over the data collection approach with respect to the National Centers for Coastal Oceans Science (NCCOS) spatial modeling as well as the equity issues within the greater process of offshore wind development.

BOEM has asked fishermen for their fishing data, which is of high value, but the NCCOS model has not yet provided transparency about how exactly that data will be used. 

If BOEM values community engagement, support from the industry sector, and stakeholder participation, they will make a more significant effort not only to include and invite but seek out fishermen who share their data and answer that effort by returning information on where that data goes and how much it matters.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Feds move wind power proposals forward

May 23, 2023 — Two major wind power projects planned off the New Jersey coast have taken big steps forward with the completion of an environmental impact study for Ocean Wind 1 and the opening of the public comment portion of a draft environmental analysis for Atlantic Shores.

In announcing each development, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management described each as supporting the Biden-Harris administration’s offshore energy goals. President Joe Biden has presented offshore wind as a key part of plans to reduce the impact of climate change and build the nation’s renewable power infrastructure.

Weighing in at 570 pages, not counting more than a dozen appendices, the environmental impact statement for Ocean Wind 1 supports the construction of 98 turbines starting 15 miles off the coast and describes most potential impacts of the project as minor or negligible.

 Read the full article at The Press of Atlantic City

BOEM Completes Environmental Analysis for Proposed Wind Project Offshore New Jersey

May 22, 2023 — The following was released by BOEM:

In support of the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed its environmental analysis of the proposed Ocean Wind 1 wind project offshore New Jersey, which could power up to a half million homes with clean renewable energy.

“BOEM continues to make progress towards a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a new clean energy industry in the United States,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. “Offshore wind is a critical component of the Biden-Harris administration’s strategy to tackle the climate crisis, while creating good-paying jobs and ensuring economic opportunities are accessible to all communities.”

President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is growing the American economy from the bottom up and middle out – from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, to driving over $470 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States, to creating good paying jobs and building a clean energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient.

Ocean Wind LLC proposes to construct up to 98 wind turbine generators (WTGs) and up to three offshore substations within its lease area. At its closest point, the Ocean Wind 1 project will be at least 13 nautical miles southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Export cables are anticipated to make landfall in Ocean County and Cape May County, New Jersey. If all 98 WTGs are approved for installation, the estimated capacity range will be from 1,215 to 1,440 megawatts, capable of powering up to 504,000 homes per year. If approved, Ocean Wind 1 will be the third commercial-scale offshore wind project located on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf approved by the Biden-Harris administration.

A “Notice of Availability” for the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Ocean Wind LLC’s Proposed Wind Energy Facility Offshore New Jersey” will publish in the Federal Register on May 26, 2023. The final EIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the activities laid out in Ocean Wind LLC’s Construction and Operations Plan. The final EIS is available on BOEM’s website.

On June 24, 2022, BOEM published a draft EIS, initiating a 45-day public comment period, which was later extended until Aug. 23, 2022. BOEM also held three virtual public hearings to solicit additional feedback on the draft EIS from Tribal nations, local community members, commercial fishing interests, and other ocean users. BOEM received a total of 1,389 comment submissions from Federal, Tribal, state, and local government agencies; non-governmental organizations, and the general public during the comment period.

BOEM considered these comments and stakeholders’ feedback when developing the final EIS, a critical step to ensure the project can move forward while balancing the needs and interests of everyone who may be affected by the development.

Next Steps 

BOEM plans to issue a Record of Decision (ROD) on whether to approve the proposed project this summer. The ROD is the conclusion of the National Environmental Policy Act EIS process.