Saving Seafood

Bay State Wind submits second proposal for wind farm in Martha’s Vineyard

August 27, 2019 — Bay State Wind, a joint venture between Ørsted and Eversource, has submitted a proposal for offshore wind energy generation in Martha’s Vineyard.

The proposal was submitted on Aug. 23 in response to the commonwealth’s second Request for Proposals.

A previous bid was made by Vineyard Wind, a joint venture by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid Renewables.

Gov. Charlie Baker had previously shown his support for the project, meeting with the Interior Secretary, David Bernhardt, who oversees the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Read the full story at MassLive

Troubling questions, concerns raised about off-shore wind farms

August 22, 2019 — Oceanographer Jon Hare listed the effects of offshore wind development on the marine environment.

There’s disturbance to the sea floor during installation of turbine platforms. Noise from pile-driving and other activities. Increases in boat traffic. Lighting of the project site. Dredging for electric cables.

The impacts can be far-reaching.

“Putting a pile into the sediment in essence is habitat alteration,” said Hare, a science and research director with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center. “You’re taking relatively smooth, unconsolidated sediments and converting it to hard structure, converting that habitat into something else.”

Although Hare didn’t name Vineyard Wind during a seminar on Wednesday, or talk about the company’s 84-turbine wind farm proposed in waters south of Martha’s Vineyard, in Massachusetts, the potential impacts he detailed speak to some of the reasons why NOAA has raised concerns about the project, which has led to further scrutiny of the application by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal

Vineyard Wind Races Against the Clock

August 9th, 2019 — Construction on Vineyard Wind, a massive plan to build 84 wind turbines 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, is slated to begin by Jan. 1, but regulatory snags on two different fronts have created a race against the clock for what would be the nation’s first industrial-scale offshore wind project.

In early July, the Edgartown conservation commission dealt a surprise setback to wind developers when it voted 5-1 to deny two undersea cables that would connect the turbines to mainland Massachusetts, after hearing concerns from local fishermen. On the same day, Vineyard Wind received news that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) had delayed the release of the project’s final environmental impact statement (EIS). In a press release shortly thereafter, Vineyard Wind acknowledged the need to have an EIS in hand “within, approximately, the next four to six weeks.”

Now, three weeks later, Vineyard Wind has appealed the conservation commission ruling to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Developers are awaiting that decision, along with a statement from BOEM on the EIS.

The developments are early challenges for a huge infrastructure project that lies on the frontier of a nascent, billion-dollar renewable energy industry. Further delays have the potential to jeopardize hefty tax credits, utility contracts and equipment leases dependent upon an already tenuous supply chain and construction timeline. A source close to the project said meetings with regulators are ongoing, and that the plan is still to have construction begin by the new year.

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette

Gov. Charlie Baker is in Washington D. C. to push for the wind farm off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard

July 30, 2019 — Governor Charlie Baker is in Washington D. C. Monday for talks with key White House officials to discuss plans to install a long-anticipated wind farm proposed in Martha’s Vineyard.

“Our goal is going to be to get as much clarity as we can over the next several days and then work with Vineyard Wind to put together a cure plan because we really want this project to happen.”

His meeting will be with the Interior Secretary, David Bernhardt, who oversees the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Construction of the wind farm is scheduled to begin Dec. 19.

Read the full story at MassLive

Vineyard Wind Officials Concerned with Environmental Review Delay

July 19, 2019 — Vineyard Wind officials are warning federal regulators that further delay without the release of an environmental review could jeopardize the project.

The company has informed the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that if an Environmental Impact Statement is not issued within the next four to six weeks “it would be very challenging to move forward the Vineyard Wind 1 project in its current configuration.”

In a statement, Vineyard Wind said BOEM has indicated they understand the reasons for this constraint and will communicate the companies concerns to the Secretary of the Interior, who is responsible for the final action on the project.

Vineyard Wind has also reached out directly to the Secretary about its concerns regarding the EIS delay.

The project, which would be located 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, would be the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind facility.

The proposed 800-megawatt wind farm would include more than 80 turbines and generate enough energy to power 400,000 homes.

The EIS is part of the project’s comprehensive public and regulatory review process that involves an evaluation by more than 25 federal, state, and local regulatory bodies.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Vineyard Wind faces new delay

July 11, 2019 — Offshore wind power developer Vineyard Wind may miss its late 2019 construction start, with a delay in the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s review of the project’s environmental impact statement.

The plan for 84 wind turbines off Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., was poised for a formal start to onshore construction activity in December 2019. But on Tuesday the company announced BOEM would not meet an anticipated July 12 milestone for approving the final EIS for the 800-megawatt project.

“We understand that, as the first commercial scale offshore wind project in the U.S., the Vineyard Wind project will undergo extraordinary review before receiving approvals,” the company said in revealing the delay. “As with any project of this scale and complexity, changes to the schedule are anticipated.”

BOEM and the company are under pressure from Massachusetts and Rhode Island fishermen who fear loss of access to fishing grounds, and dangers navigating turbine arrays. BOEM and Coast Guard officials last year put wind developers on notice that they will be required to plan for safe transit lanes through the wind towers.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Vineyard Wind dealt blows on two fronts

July 11, 2019 — The Edgartown conservation commission, in a 5-1 vote, has denied a permit for cables that would pass through the Muskeget Channel.

Vineyard Wind proposed to bury two 400 megawatt export cables one mile off Chappaquiddick from its proposed wind farm 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard to a site in Barnstable.

The cables had been approved by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, but at the Edgartown hearings fishermen pushed back strongly against them saying that the cables might have detrimental marine effects.

Vineyard Wind and their consultants, Epsilon, appeared stunned after the vote. No one from the contingent would comment on the decision. Later, Scott Farmelant, a spokesman for the project, issued a statement: “Vineyard Wind appreciates the efforts of the Edgartown Conservation Commission and local stakeholders for its very detailed project review process, which focused on a broad range of issues associated with the work contemplated in the Muskeget Channel…”

Read the full story at the MV Times

Feds throw up uncertainty for Vineyard Wind project

July 11, 2019 — Federal officials are not ready to issue an approval for the Vineyard Wind offshore power project, which may affect the project’s timeline.

Project officials late Wednesday announced that they had been informed by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) that “they are not yet prepared to issue” the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the 800 megawatt project.

The schedule had called for a decision on the EIS by Friday, July 12. Project officials have long been planning to start construction on the 84-turbine installation in federal waters south of Martha’s Vineyard by the end of 2019, and become operational in 2021.

Asked whether federal officials had offered a new timeline for a decision on the EIS, a project official declined to comment.

“We understand that, as the first commercial scale offshore wind project in the U.S., the Vineyard Wind project will undergo extraordinary review before receiving approvals,” Vineyard Wind said in a statement on its website. “As with any project of this scale and complexity, changes to the schedule are anticipated. Vineyard Wind remains resolutely committed to working with BOEM to deliver the United States’ first utility-scale wind farm and its essential benefits – an abundant supply of cost-effective clean energy combined with enormous economic and job-creation opportunities.”

The Interior Department in April got a new secretary, David Bernhardt of Virginia, who had served in leadership roles at the department for nearly a decade.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard Times

VINEYARD WIND: July 9th Notice to Mariners and Fishermen

July 3, 2019 — The following was released by Vineyard Wind:

We wanted to let you know that Vineyard Wind will begin geological surveys on or about July 9th. The estimated duration is approximately 4 days, ending on July 12, 2019. Surveys will take place nearshore in Centerville Harbor. Please see the full notice to fishermen and mariners here.

We encourage fishermen who may be working in the survey area to contact the fishery liaison.

This survey will gather data on the subfloor conditions that will assist in characterizing the subsurface conditions along the proposed offshore horizontal directional drilling (HDD) route.

Vineyard Wind is committed to communicating and working with the local fishermen in the region during all stages of development of the proposed offshore wind farm.

If you have any questions, please contact Erik Peckar, Fishery Liaison via email at erik@vineyardpower.com or via cell phone at 703-244-9585.

MASSACHUSETTS: Fishermen, Climate Activists Clash Over Wind Farm Cable

July 1, 2019 — Commercial fishermen and climate activists packed the Ted B. Morgan meeting room last Wednesday, sparring with each other during a marathon, five-hour public hearing before the Edgartown conservation commission over two proposed undersea cables that would connect the nation’s first industrial-scale offshore wind-farm to the mainland.

Although the cables have been approved by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, among other regulatory bodies, the portions of the cables in Edgartown waters are also subject to review by the town conservation commission under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act. The two, 220 kilovolt cables will run approximately one mile from Chappaquiddick’s eastern shore, connecting the proposed 80-turbine Vineyard Wind project to an electrical generating station in Barnstable.

Vineyard Wind, the New Bedford-based subsidiary of a Danish renewable energy company, bought two offshore wind lease areas from the federal government in 2015 and 2018. During an extensive permitting process over the past two years, wind farm developers have promised that impacts from the undersea cables will have a minor to negligible effect on marine life and seafloor habitats. The project has received substantial support from environmental activists on the Island, who believe that offshore wind is the most effective way for communities in the American northeast to combat climate change.

But at the hearing on Thursday, about a dozen commercial fishermen spoke out passionately against the project, arguing that renewable energy projects shouldn’t be pursued at the potential expense of some of the world’s most fertile fishing grounds.

“I’m an advocate for renewable energy and sustainable fisheries. I just think this project is going to have way more of an impact than they are saying it is,” said John Osmers, an Island commercial fisherman. “Who knows what we’re going to disturb and what species of marine life we’re going to damage with this project? I’d like to for there to be renewable energy, I just don’t think this is the way.”

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette