October 29, 2024 — New Bedford officials are demanding more consideration for fishermen as the offshore wind industry continues to expand.
These concerns are not new but the frustration is starting to grow.
Recently, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management proposed a Central Atlantic 2 Call Area, showing development plans that could potentially impact New Bedford fishermen.
October 29, 2024 — A Massachusetts tribe is backing a Supreme Court petition seeking more federal review of how planned offshore wind projects along the Eastern Seaboard are affecting the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) said in a friend of the court, or amicus, brief last week that protection of the whale is “fundamental” to its cultural heritage and protected resources.
But the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management never consulted with the tribe — or other affected tribes — about the cumulative effects of the planned development of a few dozen projects along the East Coast, starting with Vineyard Wind 1, the Wampanoag tribe told the Supreme Court in a brief Friday.
October 29, 2024 — The following was released by the U.S. Department of the Interior:
Today, the Biden-Harris administration completed its sixth offshore wind lease sale by offering areas in the Gulf of Maine – the first commercial sale for floating offshore wind on the Atlantic Coast. The sale, conducted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), resulted in two provisional winners on four lease areas and over $21.9 million in winning bids.
Today’s lease sale is yet another significant milestone in the Biden-Harris administration’s work to meet the President’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind energy by 2035.
“Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, we’ve been committed to achieving our ambitious clean energy goals. With ten approved offshore wind projects capable of powering over 5 million homes, we are well on our way to a clean energy future,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “Today’s successful auction marks yet another critical step in our fight against climate change. Together, we can create good paying jobs, build a domestic supply chain, and ensure that the momentum of this offshore industry continues for generations to come”
Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of the Interior has:
Through today’s sale, Avangrid Renewables, LLC won Lease OCS-564 at $4,928,250, which consists of 98,565 acres and Lease OCS-568 at $6,244,850, which consists of 124,897 acres. Both lease areas are approximately 29.5 nautical miles (nm) from Massachusetts.
Invenergy NE Offshore Wind, LLC won Lease OCS-562 at $4,892,700, which consists of 97,854 acres and is approximately 46.2 nm from Maine and Lease OCS-567 at $5,889,000 which consists of 117,780 acres is approximately 21.6 nautical miles (nm) from Massachusetts.
Together, the leased areas have the potential to power more than 2.3 million homes with clean energy.
“To ensure we got the process of bringing offshore wind to the Gulf of Maine right, we’ve engaged in over a hundred outreach efforts with local communities and connected with thousands of partners and stakeholders,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. “Collaboration with partners and stakeholders is key to making progress. By working closely with states, Tribes, ocean users, and industry leaders, we are building a sustainable new industry that will meet our nation’s current and future energy needs.”
President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is growing the American economy from the middle out and bottom up – from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, to driving nearly a trillion dollars in new 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 the climate crisis and make our communities more resilient. The Biden-Harris administration is harnessing these historic investments and using tools from across federal agencies to support the growing American offshore wind industry, leading to the approval and construction of the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind projects, which has created new jobs in factories and shipyards across the country. Today’s lease sale will support development of floating offshore wind in deep water sites, and the Administration is working through the interagency Floating Offshore Wind Shot to position the United States as a leader on these new technologies.
Today’s sale resulted in over $5.4 million total bidding credits. These bidding credits represent binding commitments by companies to invest over $2.7 million in workforce training and domestic supply chain development, and an additional $2.7 million for fisheries compensatory mitigation.
In addition, lease stipulations require that the lessees make every reasonable effort to enter into a project labor agreement covering the construction stage of any project for the lease areas; develop communication plans for engagement with Tribes, agencies, and fisheries; and provide semi-annual reports on engagement activities with Tribes and communities.
The leases awarded today do not authorize the construction or operation of any offshore wind facilities. Rather, they provide the right to submit a project plan for BOEM’s review. BOEM will develop an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the specific impacts of any project proposals before making decisions on whether to approve a proposed construction and operations plan. The EIS will be prepared in consultation with Tribes and appropriate government agencies, and informed by input from stakeholders, ocean users, and the public.
BOEM is committed to workforce development and to the establishment of a durable domestic supply chain that can sustain the U.S. offshore wind energy industry. More information about today’s sale, including a map of the lease areas, requirements regarding the bidding credits, and lease stipulations can be found on BOEM’s website.
October 25, 2024 — The city’s Port Authority published a letter to offshore wind regulators Wednesday, raising “grave concerns” over a 13.4 million acre tract of ocean recently opened to wind farm developers in the Central Atlantic that could put up to $2 billion in commercial fishing revenue at risk.
“BOEM has painted with too broad a brush,” New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell wrote in the letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). “We believe that the new Mid-Atlantic call areas must be cut back from existing scallop and other fishery access areas, which still would leave ample room for nearby states to achieve their offshore wind capacity goals.”
In August, BOEM began soliciting proposals for offshore wind developers to lease 13.4 million acres of ocean off New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. It is the second of such sales in the Central Atlantic and the fifth offshore wind lease sale held during the Biden-Harris administration. The first lease sale in the Central Atlantic was completed also in August, yielding nearly $93 million from developers Equinor Wind US and Virginia Electric and Power Company.
October 25, 2024 — A recent proposal to outline new wind energy areas off the Mid-Atlantic coast could threaten some of the most important East Coast sea scallop fishing grounds, New Bedford, Mass. officials warned the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
“As the port where the fishing and offshore wind industry intersect more than anywhere else, New Bedford is committed to the successful coexistence of both industries,” New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell said, in an Oct 23 statement with the New Bedford Port Authority. “We believe that the new Mid-Atlantic call areas must be cut back from existing scallop and other fishery access areas, which still would leave ample room for nearby states to achieve their offshore wind capacity goals.”
The next day Virginia-based menhaden fishermen also called for BOEM to alter its plans and provide significant setbacks from wind power development areas and fishing grounds.
October 25, 2024 — The Preservation Society of Newport County is asking a judge to halt work on a controversial wind farm located 15 miles offshore.
The Preservation Society, which owns the famed Newport Mansions, sued the federal government last year after the Revolution Wind project was approved.
Their complaint names the U.S. Department of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) as defendants.
In a new court filing, the Preservation Society asked a judge to rule in their favor before the case heads to trial. They claim BOEM broke the law by not considering the consequences the turbines would have on the Newport Mansions and other historic landmarks.
October 24, 2024 — The following was released by Omega Protein and Ocean Harvesters:
Ocean Harvesters, owner and operator of nine menhaden purse seine vessels, and Omega Protein, which develops healthy products from menhaden, have called for a 15-mile buffer from offshore wind development on the Central Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. Responding to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently proposed Central Atlantic 2 Call Area (Docket No. BOEM-2024-0040), the two Reedville, Virginia-based companies wrote that their operations are incompatible with wind turbine arrays, and that critical adjustments are needed to protect the menhaden fishing industry.
Ocean Harvesters vessels harvest Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay and in Atlantic Ocean waters from the mouth of the Bay to northern New Jersey, providing these catches exclusively to Omega Protein. This fishery, active in the communities of Virginia’s Northern Neck for over 140 years, supports the production of essential products for aquaculture, agriculture, and human nutrition.
On average, nearly 70 percent of Ocean Harvesters’ catch occurs in federal waters, with approximately 93,000 metric tons of menhaden harvested annually in the Exclusive Economic Zone between the Virginia-North Carolina border and Long Island. These operations rely on aerial spotter planes and a complex netting process to harvest menhaden, a method that is incompatible with wind turbine arrays. The range of the nets, the need for spotter planes to fly at low altitudes, and the drift of vessels during harvesting make it essential that a buffer zone be established around wind energy sites.
The companies recommend that BOEM move the boundary of Central Atlantic 2 Call Area seaward from the current six miles to 15 miles to prevent conflicts. Such a change would not only reduce conflicts with the menhaden fishery, but with many other small and large-scale commercial fisheries as well.
Maintaining an appropriate buffer zone is particularly crucial off the coast of Virginia because waters around the Chesapeake Bay are where conflicts with the menhaden fishery would be most acute. Additionally, the confluence of shipping lanes, military operations, and recreational traffic makes this a congested area in the ocean, of importance to numerous existing ocean users.
Ocean Harvesters and Omega Protein remain committed to working collaboratively with BOEM to find a solution that balances offshore renewable energy development with the preservation of vital commercial fisheries.
About Omega Protein
Omega Protein Corporation is a century old nutritional product company that develops, produces, and delivers healthy products derived from menhaden, a fish found abundantly off the U.S. Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. Omega Protein Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary and division of Cooke Inc., a family-owned company based in New Brunswick, Canada.
Through its subsidiaries, Omega Protein owns three menhaden manufacturing facilities in the United States. Omega Protein also has a long-term supply contract with Ocean Harvesters, which owns 30 fishing vessels which harvest menhaden. All fishing vessels owned and operated by Ocean Harvesters, an independent company, were formerly owned by Omega Protein. Any references to commercial fishing of menhaden relate to Ocean Harvesters, not Omega Protein or Cooke Inc.
October 23, 2024 — The following was released by the Port of New Bedford:
The New Bedford Port Authority (NBPA) has submitted a formal response to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regarding the recently proposed Central Atlantic 2 Call Area (Docket No. BOEM-2024-0040), raising significant concerns about its potential impact on the commercial fishing industry. As the nation’s most profitable fishing port and home to the first large-scale offshore wind marshaling port, New Bedford is deeply invested in both renewable energy development and the preservation of vital fishing grounds.
“BOEM has painted with too broad a brush. As the port where the fishing and offshore wind industry intersect more than anywhere else, New Bedford is committed to the successful coexistence of both industries. We believe that the new Mid-Atlantic call areas must be cut back from existing scallop and other fishery access areas, which still would leave ample room for nearby states to achieve their offshore wind capacity goals,” said New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell.
While the NBPA supports offshore wind development, it emphasized the importance of balancing this growth with the protection of established industries. In particular, the letter calls attention to the critical scallop fishing areas-Elephant Trunk, Hudson Canyon, and Delmarva-that fall within the boundaries of the proposed Central Atlantic 2 Call Area. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) estimated the 16-year catch value for the most impacted commercial fisheries in the area of the proposed call is just under $2 billion, with just under $1.5 billion of that amount coming from sea scallops.
“Our grave concern about this CA2 call area is that it unnecessarily includes some of the most critically important scallop fishing areas on the East Coast,” wrote Gordon Carr, NBPA Executive Director. “What is stunning to us is that all that data is and was available to BOEM prior to setting the boundaries of the proposed call area.”
Mr. Carr noted that the call area “could have been set approximately 150 miles to the south, avoiding these critical scallop grounds, while still leaving more than 400 miles and millions of acres of call area down to the South Carolina state line.”
The Port of New Bedford has long been involved in offshore wind planning, providing comments on multiple projects in the region. The NBPA emphasized that “development must only be accomplished in a responsible manner by protecting established industries that share our waters. In particular, ‘responsible manner’ must include learning from mistakes made in failing to avoid and address the interaction and conflicts between offshore wind and commercial fishing in connection with previous BOEM actions.”
“It is long past time for BOEM to take seriously its responsibility towards the other users of the Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”), some of which, like commercial fishing, have been using the same areas for hundreds of years. BOEM must begin to demonstrate a concerted effort to avoid and minimize the potential impact of a call area, collective lease areas, WEA, and each turbine,” Mr. Carr wrote. “This effort must take place before the potential impact is felt and must be based on more substantive scientific data and information than a hunch. People’s livelihoods are based on these actions.”
The New Bedford Port Authority calls on BOEM to take the concerns of the commercial fishing industry seriously and work toward a more responsible and consistent approach to offshore wind development, one that properly balances the needs of renewable energy with the long-standing commercial fishing industry. BOEM now has the opportunity to scale back the proposed Central Atlantic 2 Call Area to avoid and minimize the effects this area will have on most notably sea scallop, surfclam, and ocean quahog sustainability.
About the New Bedford Port Authority
The New Bedford Port Authority is a state-created agency charged with managing the Port of New Bedford. The Port is the physical center and primary economic engine of Southeastern Massachusetts. It is America’s top commercial fishing port, the staging site for America’s first industrial-scale offshore wind project, and home to hundreds of recreational and commercial vessels and businesses.
For media inquiries, please contact:
John Regan
Director of Policy & External Affairs
John.regan@newbedford-ma.gov
(508) 961-3000
October 22, 2024 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) completed its first regional environmental assessment as part of its continuing effort to accelerate the development of offshore wind energy power generation. The Final Programmatic Environmental Impact States for the New York Bight will be released later this week as a key step to move forward with the six large lease areas from the record February 2022 auction.
“We believe our regional approach will provide a solid baseline for future environmental reviews for any proposed offshore wind projects in the New York Bight,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. It is the next key step in the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to have 30 GW offshore wind energy capacity by 2030. They note that the U.S. surpassed approval for 15 GW of offshore wind energy capacity earlier this year.
BOEM reports it received 1,568 unique comments from 560 submissions which informed this stage of the development project which was designed to set a structure for the environmental review of the six projects. The six wind lease areas in the NY Bight cover over 488,000 acres offshore New York and New Jersey with BOEM estimating it has a capacity to generate up to 7 GW of offshore wind energy, enough to power up to two million homes.
October 10, 2024 — While a local grassroots organization expressed disappointment over the federal government’s approval of the construction and operations plan for two wind farm projects planned off Long Beach Island, the developers and their supporters are elated at reaching the milestone.
“Atlantic Shores is thrilled to receive approval to build our first two projects and deliver sufficient clean power to serve one third of New Jersey households,” said Joris Veldhoven, chief executive officer of Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind. “Securing these critical approvals enables New Jersey’s first offshore wind project to start construction next year and represents meaningful progress in New Jersey achieving 100% clean energy by 2035.”
The company has until roughly the middle of November to pay the first year’s rent of $13,090 for Project 1’s easement and $112,040 for Project 2’s easement. Moving forward, the annual rent for the lease area and the project easement zone will be due on March 1, the lease anniversary, according to BOEM’s letter to company officials.
The leases, unless otherwise renewed, have a 25-year lifespan from the date of the approval of COP, according to the conditions of construction and operations plan approval issued by BOEM. The document also outlines the time frame for notification prior to construction activities on the outer continental shelf, including seabed preparation such as boulder relocation and pre-lay grapnel runs, and export cable installation among other items.