February 14, 2025 — New York’s utility regulator on Thursday granted a unit of Norwegian energy firm Equinor permission to build and operate transmission facilities for the company’s Empire Wind 1 offshore wind farm under construction off the state coast.
NEW JERSEY: Is NOAA’s Sandy Hook lab at risk from funding freeze? ‘Bad news for fishermen’
February 14, 2025 — NOAA’s James J. Howard Marine Sciences Lab in Sandy Hook is in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s freeze on federal funding, Rep. Frank Pallone said this week.
Pallone, a Democrat and ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said $5 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding is unavailable which is putting jobs, research and critical infrastructure at the lab at risk.
The lab’s seawater intake supply infrastructure, essential for the lab’s core function, was set to be rehabilitated using IRA funds. Pallone said the freeze means the system is in jeopardy of total failure by April when contracts for critical maintenance staff expire. He said the system must now be manually shut down each night when maintenance staff leaves.
North Atlantic Right Whale, Calf Spotted Off NJ as Rutgers Debuts AI Tool to Protect Endangered Species
February 13, 2025 — If recent reports of a North Atlantic right whale calf and its mother spotted in a busy shipping lane between New Jersey and New York are any indication that more are to come, an artificial intelligence tool developed by Rutgers University scientists to protect them, among other marine mammals, could quiet the offshore wind debate over how to keep the endangered species safe from harm’s way.
On Feb. 3, an aerial team from the NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center spotted the right whale, identified as Accordion, named for the propeller scars on her back that resemble the instrument, and her calf, according to NOAA.
NEW JERSEY: Should recreational fisheries be split into two management sectors? Public input sought
February 7, 2025 — Should party boats have different regulations for fluke than, say, surf fishermen?
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council are floating an idea to split several recreational fisheries into two separate management sectors, a strategy that fishermen have raised before at fishery meetings but never really got any air under it.
The federal regulatory bodies are currently scoping the idea and has opened the question to comment, giving the public until March 20 to submit their opinions. The separate management would just be for the summer flounder, porgy, sea bass and bluefish fisheries.
Whales recorded in large numbers off New Jersey coast
February 6, 2025 — Whales are gathering in large numbers off New Jersey in a portion of the Atlantic Ocean called the New York Bight, according to several sources.
Viking Yacht Company of New Gretna, Burlington County, posted to Facebook that a large group of North Atlantic right whales, an endangered species with only about 360 individuals left, was congregating in the New York Bight between the Hudson Canyon off Sandy Hook and Block Canyon off Montauk, New York.
The New York Bight is a triangular area of ocean that stretches between the Jersey Shore and Long Island.
“NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has used planes to identify the whales — present due to large amounts of food,” Viking Yacht staff wrote on Facebook. “We’re advising boaters to be vigilant. If whale(s) are seen, provide a wide berth.”
VIRGINIA: Halftime at the General Assembly: Here’s the environmental legislation that made it through so far
February 6, 2025 — Proposals approved so far touch on topics including “virtual power plants,” data centers and environmental justice.
Virginia lawmakers are quickly moving through this year’s General Assembly session.
Tuesday marked “crossover” day, meaning all bills that made it through the House of Delegates are now sent to the Senate, and vice versa.
Dozens of proposed bills impact the future of the Commonwealth’s climate, environment and energy policy. Here’s a (non-exhaustive) look at where they stand.
Trump Didn’t Kill New Jersey’s Wind Farms. Economics Did
February 6, 2025 — Donald Trump’s supporters and opponents alike are giving the president credit for “killing” an offshore wind farm project along the coast of New Jersey.
An executive order pausing permitting for offshore wind projects cast doubt on that project’s viability, New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities indicated in a statement this week. It is indisputable that creating uncertainty in this market threw a wrench in the works. But as Politico confessed, the “challenges” that Governor Phil Murphy’s project encountered “include economic conditions beyond Murphy’s control and Trump.”
VIRGINIA: Dominion says cost of Virginia Beach wind farm is up and customers will pay more
February 5, 2025 — The utility said the increase of nearly $1 billion is tied to higher costs of required upgrades to the electric grid and onshore electrical infrastructure.
The cost of building the nation’s largest offshore wind farm off the Virginia Beach coast has jumped by nearly 10% since the original budget, Dominion Energy announced this week.
The utility now plans to spend $10.7 billion on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, up from $9.8 billion in 2021.
Dominion said in a news release the increase is tied to higher costs from building electrical interconnection onshore, as well as network upgrades assigned by the regional electric grid operator.
That operator, PJM Interconnection, coordinates the movement of electricity in 13 states, including Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.
“New electric generation resources constructed within PJM, like CVOW, are assigned costs by PJM that are deemed necessary to effectively integrate these resources and ensure the reliability and stability of the electric grid,” Dominion said in this week’s statement.
NEW JERSEY: NJ’s 4th offshore wind solicitation awards no bids (updated)
February 5, 2025 — In the latest sign of industry headwinds, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) announced Feb. 3 it was not making any awards in the state’s fourth offshore wind solicitation.
“The Board will not proceed with an award in New Jersey’s fourth offshore wind solicitation,” said NJBPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy. “There were three initial bids in the fourth solicitation. However, two bidders withdrew and only Atlantic Shores submitted a best and final offer.”
As NJBIZ reported in July, Atlantic Shores rebid Project 1 – which already has Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificates (OREC) – bundled with Project 2. The effort has been slated as New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm. Officials said that the proposal aimed at providing a more resilient, competitive and sustainable path through the advanced permitting program.
VIRGINIA: Cost of Virginia Beach wind farm jumps almost $1 billion, with increase passed onto customers
February 4, 2025 — The estimated cost of Dominion Energy’s 2.6-gigawatt Virginia Beach offshore wind farm has increased about 9%, which will mean a 43-cent increase on an average monthly residential power bill.
In a Monday announcement, Dominion said the total cost estimate of its wind farm had increased from $9.8 billion to $10.7 billion. The cost increase is due to higher network upgrade costs assigned by PJM, the regional electric grid operator, as well as higher onshore electrical interconnection costs, according to the statement.
“Higher network upgrade cost estimates by PJM reflect the significant increase in demand growth that require incremental generation and transmission resources across the system,” Dominion said in the statement.
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