January 21, 2025 — With the growth of offshore wind farms there are many questions surrounding their impact. In the second of two stories about what researchers are finding, science correspondent Miles O’Brien takes us to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where local officials are trying to strike a balance between greener, renewable energy and a potential impact on the critical fishing industry in that region.
MASSACHUSETTS: Two Mass. offshore wind projects postpone contracts until after Trump takes office
January 21, 2025 — The signing of contracts for two new Massachusetts offshore wind farms, previously set for this week, has been postponed until after the presidential inauguration.
The power-purchase agreements between three Massachusetts utilities and the developers of New England Wind 1 and SouthCoast Wind were due to be signed Wednesday.
The parties now say they expect to reach an agreement by March 31, more than two months after the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to halt offshore wind.
One of the utilities, National Grid, sent a letter to the Healey administration saying the developers, Avangrid and Ocean Winds, “have not yet completed their contract negotiations.”
Biden Administration approves SouthCoast Wind construction plan
January 21, 2025 — On the last business day of the Biden administration, a federal agency announced its approval of the construction and operations plan for SouthCoast Wind, a big offshore wind project that Massachusetts is counting on.
“We are proud to announce BOEM’s final approval of the SouthCoast Wind project, the nation’s eleventh commercial-scale offshore wind energy project, which will power more than 840,000 homes,” U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Elizabeth Klein said in a Friday statement.
“We are proud to announce BOEM’s final approval of the SouthCoast Wind project, the nation’s eleventh commercial-scale offshore wind energy project, which will power more than 840,000 homes,” U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Elizabeth Klein said in a Friday statement.
MASSACHUSETTS: Dozens protest wind farms and impact on whales in New Bedford
January 21, 2025 — Dozens of protesters gathered in New Bedford Saturday, demanding an end to offshore wind projects immediately.
The protest came one day after final federal approval for the Southcoast Wind Project, 26 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.
Protesters said they were outraged over potential impacts on the environment, coastal neighborhoods, and the commercial fishing industry.
Feds lift Vineyard Wind suspension order; dozens of faulty blades to be removed
January 21, 2025 — Vineyard Wind’s suspension on installing the rest of its wind farm southwest of Nantucket was lifted by the federal government Friday.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement lifted the suspension after agreeing to an addendum of Vineyard Wind’s construction and operations plan Friday, originally submitted last month, “based on revisions Vineyard Wind made to its construction and operations plan,” a BSEE spokesperson said Sunday.
NEFMC January 28-30, 2025 Meeting – Portsmouth, NH – Listen Live, View Documents
January 21, 2025 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council will hold a three-day meeting from Tuesday, January 28 through Thursday, January 30, 2025. This will be an in-person meeting coupled with a webinar option for individuals who cannot or prefer not to attend in person. Please participate remotely if you do not feel well.
LOCATION: The Venue at Portwalk Place, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
START TIME: 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday and 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. The webinar will end shortly after the Council adjourns each day.
SPECIAL EVENT – COUNCIL PUBLIC OUTREACH / POSTER SESSION ON FISHERIES RESEARCH IN OFFSHORE WIND AREAS: Join the Council on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. for an informational exchange to foster open lines of communication among Council members, staff, industry, and meeting attendees. This event will be coupled with a poster session on fisheries research in offshore wind areas. The dual public outreach/poster session will take place at the AC Hotel at 299 Vaughn Street, a 4-minute walk from the Council meeting room at The Venue at Portwalk Place. All are welcome. Light snacks will be provided.
PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITIES: The Council wants to hear from you. Here’s how you can let the Council know what you think.
- WRITE A LETTER: The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 23, 2025. Please note that written comments must address items listed on the agenda for this meeting.
- TALK TO THE COUNCIL: You’ll be able to address the Council directly through two different avenues:
- By commenting on motions at the discretion of the Council chair (if commenting remotely, raise your hand on the webinar and unmute yourself when called upon); and
- By speaking during the open period for public comment. Here are the Guidelines for Providing Public Comment.
- OPEN PERIOD FOR PUBLIC COMMENT: On Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 12:15 p.m., the Council will offer the public an opportunity to provide comments on issues relevant to Council business but not listed on this agenda. Given the Council’s busy meeting schedule, we ask that you limit remarks to 3-5 minutes.
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- SIGN UP: Interested in speaking? If attending in person, fill out the sign-up sheet on the table at the entrance to the Council meeting room. To speak remotely, email Janice Plante atjplante@nefmc.org to get on the list.
WEBINAR REGISTRATION: Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live. There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.
- Here are instructions in the Remote Participation Guide for successfully joining and participating in the webinar.
- We have a Help Desk in case you get stuck joining the webinar or have trouble along the way. Just email helpdesk@nefmc.org and we’ll get right back to you.
CALL-IN OPTION: To listen by telephone without joining the webinar, dial +1 (562) 247-8422. The access code is 597-718-535. Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply. This phone number provides a “listen-only” option without the webinar component. You will not be able to speak if you do not first join the webinar.
AGENDA: All meeting materials and the agenda are available on the Council’s website at NEFMC January 28-30, 2025 meeting webpage. Additional documents will be posted as they become available.
THREE MEETING OUTLOOK: A copy of the New England Council’s Three Meeting Outlook is availableHERE.
COUNCIL MEETING QUESTIONS: Anyone with questions prior to or during the Council meeting should contact Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.
MASSACHUSETTS: Can a $10M wind-energy center in New Bedford withstand opposition from locals and Trump?
January 17, 2025 — A state agency will continue efforts to develop a more than $10 million offshore-wind-based, ocean-energy innovation center in New Bedford in 2025, despite national opposition to offshore wind and local opposition to a proposed site.
Nationally, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to halt offshore wind development.
Locally, an attorney has compiled 236 signatures in opposition to the center’s “preferred” site, a 17,000-square-foot parking lot abutting the Bourne Counting House off McArthur Drive on Homer’s Wharf, leased through the Port Authority. The center would include the Bourne Counting House building, which would be renovated.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: NH looking for candidates to serve on fishing council
January 17, 2025 — The State of New Hampshire has been notified by the National Marine Fisheries Service of a vacancy for New Hampshire’s obligatory seat on the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC). NEFMC is one of eight regional councils in the United States established by federal regulation in 1976. It is charged with conserving and managing fishery resources from 3 to 200 miles off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
To assist in filling this vacancy, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Marine Fisheries Division will host a candidates’ interview night on Monday, February 10, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. at the Urban Forestry Center in Portsmouth, NH. Potential candidates should be prepared to present their qualifications at this session. Interested candidates should contact Cheri Patterson, Chief of Marine Fisheries for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, at (603) 868-1095 in advance of the meeting.
Saving eelgrass, the most important plant you’ve likely never heard of
January 16, 2025 — Matthew Long peers over the side of the research boat Calanus, into the dark water of Hadley Harbor, about 2 miles from Woods Hole.
There’s a meadow down there, according to Long, a marine chemist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Acres of a willowy green plant called eelgrass.
Eelgrass is the dominant species of seagrass in New England, but it’s little-known and largely unsung. And no wonder — it’s impossible to see from shore and barely visible from the boat.
But Long assures me it’s there. As his colleagues put on scuba gear to collect samples, he ticks off the reasons why healthy eelgrass meadows are critical for the New England coast.
Over 75 right whales – 20% of endangered population – spotted off Maine coast
January 16, 2025 — Dozens of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales were spotted in the Gulf of Maine this week, researchers from the New England Aquarium said Thursday.
An aerial survey team from the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life spotted the whales on Jan. 12 and 13, counting more than 75 unique individuals. Only around 370 right whales remain in existence, meaning the sightings account for around 20% of the population. The whales were gathered and feeding near the western edge of Jeffreys Ledge, where they’ve been seen in the past.
Many of the whales are known to researchers, including Millipede,” an adult female who had a calf in 2021, and “Loki,” an adult of unknown sex who has been seen just six times in 20 years and only in New England waters, and “Nimbus”, a 16-year-old male who was entangled in fishing rope in 2023.
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