Saving Seafood

Offshore wind pushes West without fisheries input, stakeholders say

May 27, 2021 — The Interior Department announced on Tuesday, May 25, that two areas off the California coast would be targeted for wind energy projects, including a nearly 400-square-mile wind farm in Morro Bay.

“The offshore wind industry has the potential to create tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs across the nation, while combating the negative effects of climate change,” U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a press release.

Commercial fishermen on both coasts continue to be concerned about what the federal push for offshore wind projects means for their jobs. Fishing groups say their feedback has largely been ignored.

“The fishing industry has been told these areas work best for offshore wind developers; but no one has asked us what areas would work best for us,” said Mike Conroy, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association, in a statement released on Tuesday.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Rhode Island Fishermen Also Peeved With South Fork Wind

May 27, 2021 — In a virtual meeting of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council on Tuesday night, members of its fisheries advisory board strongly objected to the council’s conclusion that the South Fork Wind Farm’s new “minimization alternative” — 12 wind turbine generators instead of 15, reducing its footprint — and a $12 million fisheries compensation package, are consistent with the state’s Ocean Special Area Management Plan.

The advisory board also took exception to the state council’s inclination to issue “conditional concurrence” pursuant to federal regulations. The project needs the council’s approval, along with that of a host of other state, federal, and local authorities.

The wind farm as first proposed called for a 15-turbine, 90-megawatt setup. Advances in technology have allowed instead for a 130-megawatt installation, using no more than 15 turbines. The South Fork Wind Farm will now have 12 wind turbine generators, its developers having entered into a contractual obligation with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy for 11-megawatt turbines.

The developers, Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind and Eversource Energy, have also modified the layout, to a one-by-one nautical-mile grid.

Read the full story at The East Hampton Star

California and US agree to allow big offshore wind farms

May 27, 2021 — California and the U.S. government announced an agreement Tuesday to open up areas off the state’s central and northern coasts to the first commercial wind energy farms on the Pacific Coast.

The pact that would float hundreds of turbines off the coast of Morro Bay and Humboldt Bay was touted as a breakthrough to eventually power 1.6 million homes and help the state and federal government reach ambitious climate change goals through clean energy production.

“California, as we all know, has a world class offshore wind resource, and it can play a major role in helping to accelerate California’s and the nation’s transition to clean energy,” National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy said.

The plan includes floating 380 windmills across a nearly 400-square-mile expanse of sea 20 miles northwest of Morro Bay. The site could be finalized next month and could be put up for lease next year.

The announcement is part of President Joe Biden’s plan to create 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.

The new projects — if approved and built — would provide a major expansion of offshore wind power in the U.S. Currently, there are just two working offshore wind farms — off Block Island in Rhode Island and off Virginia — but more than two dozen others are in development.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Santa Monica Daily Press

New Senate effort to keep oil rigs away from the Jersey Shore pushed by Menendez

May 27, 2021 — Legislation to permanently ban offshore drilling off the Atlantic Coast was introduced Wednesday by U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, the latest effort by New Jersey’s federal lawmakers to keep oil rigs away from the Jersey Shore.

The bill would prevent the Interior Department from issuing any leases in the Atlantic Ocean or the Straits of Florida. The Atlantic Coast had been placed off limits to oil exploration through 2022 under the Interior Department’s five-year drilling plan, but Donald Trump tried to open most of the waters around the U.S. to drilling.

President Joe Biden put a stop to Trump’s efforts during his first week in office.

“As we turn the corner on the pandemic and hope for near-normal crowds and a strong summer for businesses at the Jersey Shore, the last thing we need is to open our coast up for a manmade disaster like an oil spill that threatens an already fragile economy,” Menendez said.

“Our boardwalks, restaurants, small businesses, and fishing industries depend on the health and safety of our beaches and the millions of tourists and day-trippers they attract,” he said.

Read the full story at NJ.com

California and US agree to allow big offshore wind farm

May 26, 2021 — California and the U.S. government announced an agreement Tuesday to open up areas off the state’s central and northern coasts to the first commercial wind energy farms on the Pacific Coast.

The pact that would float hundreds of turbines off the coast of Morro Bay and Humboldt Bay was touted as a breakthrough to eventually power 1.6 million homes and help the state and federal government reach ambitious climate change goals through clean energy production.

“California, as we all know, has a world class offshore wind resource, and it can play a major role in helping to accelerate California’s and the nation’s transition to clean energy,” National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy said.

Fishermen, however, are concerned that construction and operation of projects on this scale could disrupt the ecosystem and that they were not consulted on the impact the locations could have on their industry.

“We feel we’ve not been invited to have a seat at the table. We feel we’re on the menu,” said Mike Conroy, executive director of The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

US West Coast fishermen bristle against newly announced wind farm projects

May 26, 2021 — Mike Conroy, the executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association, hoped he’d have a little more time to get ready before the federal government planned to move forward with offshore wind energy projects on the U.S. West Coast. But that was before the U.S. Department of the Interior announcement on Tuesday, 25 May, indicating two areas off the California coast would be targeted for wind energy projects.

“I believe that a clean energy future is within our grasp in the United States, but it will take all of us and the best-available science to make it happen. Today’s announcement reflects months of active engagement and dedication between partners who are committed to advancing a clean energy future,” U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a press release. “The offshore wind industry has the potential to create tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs across the nation, while combating the negative effects of climate change. Interior is proud to be part of an all-of-government approach toward the Biden-Harris administration’s ambitious renewable energy goals.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

The White House is backing plans to open up the California coast to wind farms.

May 26, 2021 — The following is an excerpt from an article published in the New York Times:

The notion of wind farms churning in the Pacific Ocean, creating clean energy to power homes and businesses, has long been dismissed because of logistical challenges posed by a deep ocean floor and opposition from the military, which prefers no obstacles for its Navy ships.

But evolving technology and a president determined to rapidly expand wind energy have dramatically shifted the prospects for wind farms in the Pacific. On Tuesday, the Navy abandoned its opposition and joined the Interior Department to give its blessing to two areas off the California coast that the government said can be developed for wind turbines.

The plan allows commercial offshore wind farms in a 399-square-mile area in Morro Bay along central California, and another area off the coast of Humboldt in Northern California.

The announcement came weeks after the Biden administration approved the nation’s first ever commercial-scale offshore wind farm, to be built off the coast of Massachusetts. About a dozen other offshore wind projects along the East Coast are now under federal review.

The administration estimates that wind turbines in Morro Bay and near Humboldt could together eventually generate enough electricity to power 1.6 million homes.

If those numbers are realized, it could make the California coast one of the largest generators of wind power in the world. The new coastal Massachusetts wind farm is expected to have up to 84 giant wind turbines. By comparison, Mr. Newsom estimated that the California sites could hold more than 300 turbines.

But groups representing the fishing industry are outraged, saying that the administration has sped forward with a plan that is larger and more potentially disruptive to marine life than they had anticipated.

“We’re totally against this,” said Tom Hafer, president of the Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization. “We’ve been consulting with the Castle Wind people for a long time, and we helped pick the spot and developed a memorandum of understanding on an area that we thought would be sustainable for us. That was about 120 square miles. This is 399 square miles. We’re going to lose a whole bunch of fishing grounds. There will be cables in the water. We don’t know how the whales will react. There are a lot of unknowns. People don’t realize how massive this project will be.”

Read the full story here

In response, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association (PCFFA) released the following statement:

Earlier today, the federal government and State of California announced, “an effort to advance areas for offshore wind off the northern and central coasts of California – opening up the Pacific Coast to its first commercial scale offshore clean energy projects.” In its Fact Sheet, the White House indicated its intent to change the size and shape of the Morro Bay Call Area; and to advance “the Humboldt Call Area as a potential Wind Energy Area.” Governor Newsom’s press statement pays homage to his California Comeback Plan which includes a proposed $20 million in funding to support California’s offshore wind capacity. Unfortunately, none of this funding will be used to support fisheries research or impacts mitigation.

Also today, BOEM announced it will hold “a virtual California Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting open to the public to listen and attend on June 24, 2021 to discuss both central and northern California offshore wind planning areas considered for future leasing and next steps in the BOEM leasing process moving forward.” Unfortunately for many in the fishing community, that is when the June Pacific Fishery Management Council begins. It is inexcusable that BOEM, who has claimed to engage closely with the Council, would schedule a Task Force meeting during the Council’s meeting. The fishing community will now have to choose between attending the Council meeting and participating in discussions fostering our sustainable fisheries or attending a meeting where they will be told that dire consequences are possible for the fisheries the Council manages.

“The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA) remains concerned about rushing unproven technology, with unknown impacts to our ocean ecosystem, in locations which were not identified with any meaningful input by the fishing industry. Floating wind turbines have not been deployed in the scale being considered off the California coast. Far too many questions remain unanswered regarding potential impacts to marine life which is dependent on a healthy ecosystem” said Mike Conroy, PCFFA’s Executive Director. “For example, potential impacts to upwelling, potential impacts of noise generated by construction and operation of an industrial offshore wind farm, and impacts of electromagnetic fields on pacific coast salmon stocks, other important commercial and recreational fish stocks, marine mammals and sea birds are all still unanswered.”

“The fishing industry has been told these areas work best for offshore wind developers; but no one has asked us what areas would work best for us” added Mike Conroy. “There has been no effort to engage with or partner with fishermen, no planning process to evaluate fisheries data and spatial needs to inform this development, nor is there a clear process for how to do that through permitting now that we have missed the opportunity to plan effectively. The areas announced today are large areas; and with additional Call Areas likely to be identified off California and Oregon later this year, a comprehensive, upfront, cumulative effects analysis should be required.”

We do want to offer our sincere thanks and appreciation to California State Senator McGuire for the comments he made today during the Senate Budget Subcommittee #2 hearing when addressing the $700,000 earmarked for outreach “to ports, Tribes, labor, coastal communities and more” he noted the commercial fishing industry is missing. “We need to look at what potential impacts there will be for commercial fishermen with offshore wind.” He went on to say, “we need to make sure that the commercial fishing fleet have a seat at the table.” We thank Senator McGuire for his continued support of the commercial fishing industry and look forward to discussions with him and his staff regarding Senate Bill 413.

Read the full release here

Biden Administration Strikes A Deal To Bring Offshore Wind To California

May 26, 2021 — The Biden administration plans to open the California coast to offshore wind development, ending a long-running stalemate with the Department of Defense that has been the biggest barrier to building wind power along the Pacific Coast.

The move adds momentum to the administration’s goal of reaching 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035, coming just weeks after the country’s first large-scale offshore wind farm was approved off the coast of New England. Today, the country has just a handful of offshore wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean, with around a dozen wind farms being developed in federal waters off the East Coast.

“It’s an announcement that will set the stage for the long-term development of clean energy and the growth of a brand-new, made-in-America industry,” national climate adviser Gina McCarthy says. “Now we’re thinking big and thinking bold.”

The agreement identifies two sites off central and Northern California with the potential to install massive floating wind turbines that could produce 4.6 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power 1.6 million homes.

Interest in offshore wind on the West Coast has grown for years, especially with California’s own ambitious goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The deep waters off the coast have the potential to produce a significant amount of energy.

Read the full story at NPR

Biden administration inks offshore wind agreement with California

May 25, 2021 — The Biden administration has reached an agreement with California seeking to advance wind energy development off the state’s northern and central coasts.

The Interior Department said in a statement that initial areas of development could bring up to 4.6 gigawatts of energy to the grid, enough to power 1.6 million homes.

The federal government aims to sell wind energy leases in mid-2022, the department said.

“Today’s announcement reflects months of active engagement and dedication between partners who are committed to advancing a clean energy future,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in a statement.

“The offshore wind industry has the potential to create tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs across the nation, while combating the negative effects of climate change,” she added.

Read the full story at The Hill

RHODE ISLAND: Alleging ‘backroom deal,’ fishermen’s group opposes new plan for South Fork Wind Farm

May 25, 2021 — A board of fishermen that advises Rhode Island coastal regulators on offshore wind development has come out in opposition to  state certification of the South Fork Wind Farm.

A lawyer for the Fishermen’s Advisory Board said a recommendation by staff at the Coastal Resources Management Council that was agreed to by developers Ørsted and Eversource to reduce the number of turbines in the 132-megawatt project and set up a fishing compensation fund does not meet the concerns of board members.

“It was a backroom deal that happened over the weekend without our participation,” said Marisa Desautel.

She spoke Tuesday morning, hours before the coastal council was set to vote on a mitigation package that includes a reduction in the number of wind turbines from 15 to 12 and the creation of a $12-million fund, to be paid into over 30 years, that would compensate fishermen for lost access to fishing grounds in the project area in Rhode Island Sound.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal