Saving Seafood

‘Much uncertainty.’ Cape, Mass. leaders see political shifts that may slow offshore wind

January 6, 2025 — The future of offshore wind is at a pivotal point this year, marked by a mix of determination and uncertainty.

On Dec. 20, the Biden-Harris administration granted final approval for SouthCoast Wind, the eleventh offshore wind project it has approved. With up to 141 turbines and the potential to generate 2.4 gigawatts of electricity, the SouthCoast Wind project, in a federal lease area south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, is a key part of the region’s clean energy goals steadfastly promoted by Gov. Maura Healey, and many legislators and environmental advocates.

But the incoming Trump-Vance administration could dramatically alter the regulatory and financial landscape for offshore wind. Their less favorable stance toward the industry raises concerns about the pace of future projects and the viability of less mature proposals. This is especially true for the Gulf of Maine lease areas, where the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has provisionally awarded four of eight lease areas to Avangrid Renewables and Invenergy NE Offshore Wind, including due east of Cape Cod.

Local concerns and political shifts

Those who have voiced concerns about offshore development, meanwhile, say a cooler federal stance on offshore wind would be welcome. Many critics, particularly on Cape Cod, say the offshore wind industry is advancing too quickly without adequate consultation with those who will be most affected — local residents, fishermen, and coastal communities.

Susanne Conley, a Barnstable resident who’s a leader of the Save Greater Dowses Beach citizens group, advocates for a reevaluation of offshore wind policy. While she supports the transition to renewable energy, she believes the Biden-Harris offshore wind program should be halted, particularly in light of what she perceives as insufficient baseline environmental data “to understand the effect of these massive projects on the fisheries, on all ocean life, and on coastal communities.”

Read the full story at The Standard-Times

Biden admin calls on Supreme Court to reject Vineyard Wind case

December 17, 2024 — The Biden administration is urging the Supreme Court to turn away a petition calling for more analysis of how a major offshore wind project off Massachusetts could affect an endangered whale.

The Bay State group Nantucket Residents Against Turbines has claimed in its appeal to the high court that federal agencies failed to account for the cumulative effects of offshore wind development planned on the East Coast would affect the survival of the North Atlantic right whale when it approved Vineyard Wind 1.

In a brief to the court last week, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said the Supreme Court should not consider the case because the group had not raised the issue before two lower courts in its lawsuit over the NOAA Fisheries and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management analysis of the project.

Read the full article at E&E News

Offshore wind companies pitch projects in the Gulf of Mexico, signaling interest in region

December 16, 2024 — After a period of stagnation for the offshore wind sector, a federal agency just announced that two new areas in the Gulf of Mexico have attracted interest from energy companies — a hopeful sign for a fledgling industry that Louisiana has sought to boost.

The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, which oversees offshore wind development, said Thursday that two areas off the coast of Southeast Texas have “competitive interest” for future business after two companies expressed interest in building wind farms there.

The 142,000 acres of note will likely be included in the next wind lease auction, scheduled for 2026, alongside other Gulf areas identified as apt for the technology.

While the companies’ proposed wind farms most likely would not supply energy to Louisiana, they suggest that the industry is eyeing the Gulf region for future projects.

Read the full article at NOLA

BOEM Announces Next Steps in Competitive Leasing Process for Offshore Wind Energy in Gulf of Mexico

December 12, 2024 — The following was released by BOEM:

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced today that it is issuing a Determination of Competitive Interest in two Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in the Gulf of Mexico. The determination comes after an unsolicited request from Hecate Energy Gulf Wind LLC expressing interest in acquiring a commercial wind energy lease for WEA options C and D.

On July 29, 2024, BOEM published a Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI) in the Federal Register seeking feedback on Hecate’s unsolicited lease request. Invenergy GOM Offshore Wind LLC expressed interest in WEA options C and D. BOEM has deemed both Hecate and Invenergy to be legally, technically, and financially qualified to hold an OCS renewable energy lease in the Gulf of Mexico. As a result of this review, BOEM has determined that competitive interest exists in the RFCI areas.

“The Gulf of Mexico remains an attractive option for offshore wind energy development,” said Gulf of Mexico Regional Director Jim Kendall. “We are excited about the future of this emerging sector in the region.”

BOEM will move forward with the competitive lease process and proceed to hold the next offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico in 2026. The next step in that process will be to continue to analyze the other comments received in response to the RFCI and evaluate which portions of WEA options C and D, and other potential WEA options, are best suited for sale. BOEM will release draft WEAs for public input early next year.

A notice announcing the determination of competitive interest will publish in the Federal Register on Dec. 13, 2024. For more information on the notice and offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Mexico, see the BOEM website: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/gulf-mexico-activities.

Vineyard Wind Withstands Another Legal Challenge

December 10, 2024 — Another attempt to halt Vineyard Wind through the courts fell short last week when a federal court dismissed an appeal by a fishermen’s organization and a Rhode Island seafood dealer.

A panel of judges with the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision on Dec. 5, saying the group’s claims that the federal government mishandled the approval process for the wind farm were unfounded.

The decision is one of several that Vineyard Wind, which aims to build 62 turbines to the south of the Island, has weathered in recent years, keeping the project’s approvals from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management intact.

Seafreeze Shoreside, a Rhode Island-based seafood dealer, the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance and other groups filed the appeal after their claims were rejected by the U.S. District Court in Boston in 2023.

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette

Maryland can start construction on its first offshore wind farm

December 5, 2024 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved US Wind’s Construction and Operations Plan for Maryland’s first offshore wind farm Tuesday.

The state has ambitious offshore wind goals and past failed agreements with Danish renewable energy giant Orsted.

“After more than four years of rigorous and robust analysis, we are thrilled to have secured this final BOEM approval,” said US Wind CEO Jeff Grybowski. “US Wind’s projects will produce massive amounts of homegrown energy and will help satisfy the region’s critical need for more electricity, all while supporting good local jobs.”

The Maryland Offshore Wind Project is planned in three phases, two of which have been named – MarWin and Momentum Wind – and have received offshore renewable energy certificates from the state of Maryland.

Read the full story at The Center Square

Tracking Sea Creature Stress Related to Wind Turbine Construction

December 5, 2024 — With hundreds of towering offshore wind turbines planned to be built in the waters south of Martha’s Vineyard, a team of local scientists is working to find out if the construction noise will hurt ocean life.

As regulators consider projects up and down the east coast, researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have been simulating the booming sound of pile driving turbine monopiles to see if it has an effect on a variety of species. So far, results have been mixed.

While there’s been research into how turbine construction impacts the endangered right whale, the ocean’s small ground critters have largely been left to fend for themselves, said Aran Mooney, an associate scientist at WHOI.

“This is a knowledge gap, and it could really impact the fisheries,” he said.

The research team has been replicating construction and observing its effects on lobsters, sea scallops, flounder, squid and black sea bass. Mr. Mooney’s work was contracted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the federal agency that oversees offshore wind energy.

In the past few years, the WHOI scientists have determined the impact the noise has on squid by playing an audio recording of pile driving as they were enclosed in a tank.

“The sound profiles are pretty much the same as what we see in offshore wind, actual construction.” Mr. Mooney said.

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette

Ocean City continues with lawsuit following US Wind receiving final approval

December 4, 2024 — US Wind, Inc. announced Tuesday that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has granted final approval for the company’s Construction and Operations Plan, completing the federal permitting process for its offshore wind project.

“This is a proud moment for US Wind,” said Jeff Grybowski, US Wind CEO. “After more than four years of rigorous and robust analysis, we are thrilled to have secured this final BOEM approval. US Wind’s projects will produce massive amounts of homegrown energy and will help satisfy the region’s critical need for more electricity, all while supporting good local jobs.”

The project, located in a federal lease area off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland, has the potential to generate up to 2 gigawatts of offshore wind power — enough to power more than 600,000 homes in the region, according to US Wind.

However, the project has faced significant opposition from the Ocean City community and other local organizations. The Town of Ocean City, joined by groups such as the Worcester County Commissioners, Coastal Association of Realtors and the Commercial and Recreational Fishing Industry, say they will continue to move forward with a lawsuit against BOEM to challenge its approval of US Wind’s project.

Read the full story at Coast TV

US Wind Wins Final Approval for Offshore Wind Project

December 4, 2024 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has issued its final approval of US Wind’s construction of a wind project off the coast of Delmarva.

According to US Wind, BOEM issued the permit for the Construction and Operations Plan, the final step in the company’s ongoing federal permitting application Tuesday, December 3.

The approved project includes the construction and operation of up to 114 wind turbine generators, up to four offshore substation platforms, a meteorological tower, and offshore export cable corridors. The project could also see wind power cables coming ashore under 3Rs Beach in Delaware.

The Town of Ocean City, along with multiple co-plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit in October challenging BOEM’s approval process of US Wind’s proposed project.

Read the full story at WBOC

BOEM Publishes Final SouthCoast Wind Impact Statement

November 29, 2024 — The federal Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) recently published the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the 147-turbine SouthCoast Wind project off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.

Southcoast Wind’s offshore turbines will primarily be visible off the coast of Nantucket, but the company’s pathway to profitability relies in part on permitting from the state of Rhode Island. The company plans to run a transmission cable through the state’s coastal waters, up the Sakonnet River, over Portsmouth’s Common Fence Point, and across Mount Hope Bay to Brayton Point in Somerset, Massachusetts.

The 491-page EIS document delves into details about the project’s anticipated impact on everything from fisheries and whales to underwater archaeological sites of cultural significance. It also includes a “finding of adverse effect” on nine historic locations, including two historic sites with ocean views on Nantucket and in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

Read the full article at the Newport Daily News