Saving Seafood

NOAA drafts habitat maps for wind lease zones

November 1, 2018 — After years of mapping, NOAA, WHOI, UMass Dartmouth, and Howard Marine Research Laboratory researchers have created bottom, or benthic, habitat maps for the eight Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in the Northeast. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management funded the mapping project, which included areas in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. A report from the habitat-mapping project titled “Habitat Mapping and Assessment of Northeast Wind Energy Areas” describes concerns with disturbing benthic environment in the process of assembling wind turbines. “Topics range from bottom water temperatures, bottom topography and features, types of sediments and ocean currents,” a NOAA release states, “to animals that live in and on top of the sediments and in the water column in that area either seasonally or year-round.”

Some of the details given in the release covered aspects of Massachusetts wind farm sites.

Read the full story at the Martha’s Vineyard Times

Federal Meeting On Deepwater Application In New York On Monday, November 5

October 31, 2018 — The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will host a public hearing Monday, November 5, on the application by Deepwater Wind to construct 15 wind-generated power turbines in the ocean off Block Island.

The public hearing will begin at 5 p.m. at the American Legion Hall at the corner of Abrahams Path and Montauk Highway in Amagansett. There will be a presentation on the application at 6 p.m., and public input will be welcomed until 8 p.m.

The hearing will focus on the scoping session portion of the application, at which the public will be asked to offer input of the sort of issues and concerns about the project that should be addressed by the company and BOEM during the federal review of the project.

Read the full story at 27 East 

 

BOEM Announces Public Meetings For South Fork Offshore Project

October 31, 2018 — The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced three upcoming public meetings in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island to discuss Deepwater Wind’s proposed South Fork offshore wind project.

BOEM plans to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the construction and operations plan (COP) of Deepwater Wind’s South Fork Wind, proposed offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The plan would allow construction and operation of up to 15 turbines that connect via a transmission cable to a grid in East Hampton, N.Y., the east end of Long Island.

Read the full story at North American Wind Power

 

BOEM opens process for New York offshore wind power

October 31, 2018 — Federal energy officials are opening an environmental impact study for what could be the first offshore wind power project in East Coast federal waters, with public sessions next week on the South Fork Wind Farm proposal east of Montauk, N.Y.

The 15-turbine array is proposed by Deepwater Wind, the company that pioneered the first U.S. commercial offshore wind project at Block Island, R.I. Now in the process of being acquired by Denmark-based energy company Ørsted for $510 million, Deepwater Wind would build the South Fork array about 19 miles southeast of Block Island and 35 miles east of Montauk.

The Bureau of Offshore Energy Management is holding public scoping meetings Nov. 5 to Nov. 8 at Amagansett,  N.Y.;  New Bedford, Mass.; and Narragansett, R.I. Agency officials say they provide “multiple opportunities to help BOEM determine significant resources (e.g. avian, marine mammals) and issues, impact-producing factors, reasonable alternatives, and potential mitigating measures to be analyzed in the EIS.”

Read the full story at WorkBoat

Report maps potential environmental impacts of offshore wind energy

October 31, 2018 — A four-year study of planned wind energy areas off the East Coast found that building and operating offshore wind energy arrays could affect some of the region’s most commercially valuable fish species.

The report by scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was written to help the federal Bureau of Offshore Energy Management to evaluate development plans for eight offshore wind energy leases issued by the agency.

Those areas, extending from the largest proposals to date off southern New England to North Carolina, represent just about 2.7% of what NOAA Fisheries defines as the Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem, according to the report. Since then four more leases have been issued, for a dozen proposed wind developments in all.

“While the extent of the WEAs (wind energy areas) may appear small in comparison with the entire system, it is the largest pre-planned anthropogenic (man-made) development in the coastal ocean in this region,” the authors note. “Further, the LME is not homogeneous, so that the effects of WEA development can potentially have impacts out of proportion to its small size.”

Read the full story at WorkBoat

BOEM to hold public meetings for proposed offshore wind farm

October 30, 2018 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) says it will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) submitted by Deepwater Wind that would allow it to construct and operate up to 15 turbines, an electric service platform offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and an export cable to East Hampton, New York.

Comments may be submitted until November 19, 2018 by either of the following two methods:

  • Federal eRulemaking Portal: In the entry titled “Enter Keyword or ID,” enter BOEM– 2018-0010, and then click “search.”  Follow the instructions to submit public comments and view supporting and related materials available for this notice.
  • U.S.  Postal Service or other delivery service.  Send your comments and information to the following address:

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Office of Renewable Energy Programs
45600 Woodland Road (VAM-OREP)
Sterling, Virginia 20166

BOEM’s scoping process is intended to identify any important issues and potential alternatives for consideration in the Deepwater Wind COP EIS. Throughout the scoping process, there will be multiple opportunities to help BOEM determine significant resources (e.g. avian, marine mammals) and issues, impact-producing factors, reasonable alternatives, and potential mitigating measures to be analyzed in the EIS.

Read the full story at Windpower Engineering & Development

Ocean wind has big week, fishermen need to step up

October 29, 2018 — Last week, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced three major developments in American offshore wind energy that set the table for fishermen engagement through public comment on plans. Two of the announcements impact fishermen in Rhode Island and Massachusetts directly.

Last Friday the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a Notice of Intent to prepare/review an Environmental Impact Statement (ESI) for the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for the South Fork Wind Farm project off Massachusetts and Rhode Island being developed by Deepwater Wind.

If approved, the plan would allow construction and operation of up to 15 turbines that connect via a transmission cable to a grid in East Hampton, New York — the east end of Long Island. The project is approximately 19 miles southeast of Block Island. The notice will have a 30-day public comment period closing on November 19.

“The public will have the opportunity to review the Construction and Operations Plan and provide input to BOEM at three community meetings to be held in East Hampton, Rhode Island, and in Massachusetts, or through written comment,” Jeffrey Grybowski, CEO of Deepwater Wind said. “We’re on-track to begin construction on the South Fork Wind Farm once the EIS and permits are in-hand, by 2021, and to deliver clean energy to the South Fork starting in 2022.”

An open house will be held at the Narragansett Community Center, at 53 Munford Road in Narragansett, RI, on Thursday, Nov. 8. In New Bedford, the meeting will be Wednesday, November 7 at UMass-Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology East, located at 836 South Rodney French Boulevard. Both open houses are from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., with a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session starting at 6 p.m. For copies of the plans and information on how to comment online, by mail or for information on the Long Island meeting, visit https://www.boem.gov/South-Fork/.

In a second development last week, Secretary Zink announced a much-anticipated wind auction in federal waters off the coast of Massachusetts which will take place on December 19. And, the third announcement pertained to the next steps to the first-ever wind auction in federal waters off California.

Read the full story at The Sun Chronicle

Federal Environmental Review Begins for Deepwater Wind

October 25, 2018 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management published a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement on plans by Deepwater Wind to develop the South Fork Wind Farm roughly 30 miles off the coast of Montauk.

BOEM will lead the federal review of Deepwater Wind’s proposal to construct up to 15 wind turbines as a part of its South Fork Wind Farm Project. The New York State Public Service Commission will lead the state review of the project.

According to a press release issued by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, the notice was published in the Federal Register on October 19 and will have a 30-day public comment period that will close on November 19.

“The U.S. is making offshore wind a major priority for our energy future. The South Fork Wind Farm, New York’s first offshore wind farm, will be a centerpiece of that vision,” said Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski in a statement. “Starting the EIS review is a major step forward for the South Fork Wind Farm and an important milestone. This extensive review will examine the project’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP) and related environmental considerations.

“The public will have the opportunity to review the COP and to provide their input to BOEM at three community meetings held in East Hampton, in Rhode Island and in Massachusetts, or through written comment. Our timeline is right on-schedule. We’re on-track to begin construction on the South Fork Wind Farm once the EIS and permits are in-hand, by 2021, and to deliver clean energy to the South Fork starting in 2022.”

Read the full story at Sag Harbor Express

Interior agency advances offshore wind on both coasts

October 24, 2018 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is taking steps that could lead to offshore wind farms along the East and West coasts.

BOEM on Oct. 19 asked companies to indicate their interest in developing three areas off the coast of California. BOEM is part of the Department of the Interior.

The parcels off California’s central and northern coastline total about 687,825 acres, but BOEM said it would consider changing the size of areas eligible for wind leases. BOEM delineated the areas in consultation with an interagency task force and the state of California.

BOEM this year received an unsolicited lease request from the Redwood Coast Energy Authority, which is leading an effort to develop a wind farm offshore Humboldt County, according to the agency.

In March, the RCEA, a joint powers agency, selected a group of companies to develop the offshore project, including Principle Power, EDPR Offshore North America, Aker Solutions, H.T. Harvey & Associates and Herrera Environmental Consultants. The group aims to bring the wind farm into service in 2025.

Also, in early 2016, BOEM received an unsolicited lease request from Trident Winds for a project off Morro Bay, according to the agency.

Read the full story at Public Power

 

Vineyard Wind Signs Milestone Lease Deal With Massachusetts

October 23, 2018 — Massachusetts’ Baker-Polito administration and Vineyard Wind have announced a lease agreement to use the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal as the primary staging and deployment location for Vineyard Wind’s offshore development.

In May, an 800 MW offshore wind farm proposed by Vineyard Wind, a joint venture of Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, was selected as the winning bid under Massachusetts’ 83C offshore wind solicitation.

Constructed and operated by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal is a 29-acre heavy-lift facility designed to support the construction, assembly and deployment of offshore wind projects, as well as handle bulk, break-bulk, container and large specialty marine cargo. The new agreement between MassCEC and Vineyard Wind represents a commitment to an 18-month lease at $6 million annually.

“By signing this lease agreement with Vineyard Wind, we have achieved another major milestone to secure long-term jobs and economic growth for the people of Massachusetts,” says Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. “Establishing an offshore wind supply chain in Massachusetts is critical to our mission to strengthen our economy while reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.”

In April, MassCEC released a report on the workforce needs and economic impact of the emerging offshore wind industry. It found that the deployment of 1,600 MW of offshore wind is estimated to support 6,870-9,850 job years over the next 10 years and generate a total economic impact in Massachusetts of $1.4 billion-$2.1 billion.

“The New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal provides Massachusetts with an important piece of infrastructure that will be critical in helping the offshore wind industry to establish operations in this new American marketplace,” says Stephen Pike, CEO of MassCEC.

“Today’s announcement not only cements Vineyard Wind’s commitment to stage the nation’s first industrial-scale offshore wind project from the Port of New Bedford, but it reinforces New Bedford’s leadership position in offshore wind energy,” adds New Bedford’s mayor, Jon Mitchell.

Read the full story at North American Wind Power