Saving Seafood

Orsted expects delays in South Fork offshore wind farm

April 30, 2020 — The South Fork offshore wind farm will “very likely” be delayed beyond its planned 2022 completion date, according to a top official for project developer Orsted, who cited a “prolonged” federal review of U.S. wind projects and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Denmark-based Orsted’s U.S. offshore wind projects were still advancing, said chief executive Henrik Poulsen in comments with the release of Orsted’s first quarter financial report, but at a “slower pace” than planned. He cited the South Fork wind farm as one of two projects that were the “most exposed to the risk of delays.”

A second project by Orsted known as the Skipjack wind farm off the coast of Maryland also will likely be delayed by about a year from its originally 2022 completion date, Poulsen said.

There are also “increased risks of delay” for another New York project known as Sunrise Wind, intended to connect to the Long Island grid in 2024, Poulsen said, as well two other East Coast projects. Sunrise Wind, awarded by New York State with a capacity of some 880 megawatts, has been hampered by an inability to complete offshore site surveys by vessels because of COVID-19 restrictions, Poulsen said. The company expects to have “more clarity” on whether the projects will meet 2023-24 completion dates “after summer,” Poulsen said.

Read the full story at Newsday

Fishing industry group wants Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire offshore wind planning postponed during pandemic

April 29, 2020 — A group representing the fishing industry has written to New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker asking for a six-month pause in planning Gulf of Maine (GOM) offshore wind development amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter from the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) seeks to ensure that fishermen have a say in the early stages of any proposed projects, RODA executive director Annie Hawkins told The Center Square.

“The idea behind the letter was the Gulf of Maine is at the beginning of planning for offshore wind. Given how important it is to fishermen’s work routes and interactive site mapping, it has to be done when everyone can be at the table,” Hawkins said. “And right now, the fishing industry is dealing with their own things brought on by the pandemic.”

Hawkins said in other regions of offshore wind development, fishermen haven’t had enough of a voice in the planning process because work commitments often preclude them from being at meetings.

“What we’re seeing in other regions, fishing interests are brought in late in the game,” Hawkins said.

Read the full story at The Center Square

Geophysical survey underway at Virginia offshore wind site

April 28, 2020 — A pair of offshore service vessels from the Gulf of Mexico are at work off Virginia, conducting geophysical studies on a 112,800-acre federal lease where Dominion Energy and offshore wind developer Ørsted plan to build a 2,600-megawatt turbine array beginning in 2024.

Geospatial surveyors TerraSond contracted with Houma, La.-based Bordelon Marine to use the Sarah Bordelon and the Marcelle Bordelon, both 170’x36’x10’, 440.9 dwt, to start the work in mid-April in the lease area, 27 miles east of Virginia Beach.

“These surveys will provide the company with the geological, biological, and oceanographic data needed to support planning and construction in a manner that facilitates coexistence between the natural marine ecosystem and clean energy development,” Dominion Energy said in a statement issued April 27. “Ultimately, this data will support preparation of the project’s Construction and Operations Plan to be submitted to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) later this year.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Coronavirus halts nation’s largest purchase of offshore wind

April 27, 2020 — The state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) authorised the New York Energy Research and Development Authority (Nyserda) to issue a new offshore wind solicitation for at least 1GW and up to 2.5GW.

The energy regulator has planned to issue the tender – which would be the US’ largest offshore wind auction to date – this summer, according to a petition filed with the PSC.

However, Nyserda has suspended its plans to hold the auction round indefinitely as government agencies prioritise New York’s response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

New York has recorded the highest number of cases and casualties in the US, according to statistics company Worldometer.

Read the full story at Wind Power Monthly

Offshore wind turbines headed to Virginia; New Jersey launches ‘WIND Institute’

April 24, 2020 — Components for the first two offshore wind energy turbines to be installed in U.S. federal waters departed from Denmark, bound for Nova Scotia and ultimately installation off Virginia, project backers said April 21.

The pair of 6-megawatt Siemens Gamesa will be assembled by Dominion Energy and wind developer Ørsted for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW), a pilot project 27 miles offshore for what is planned to become a much larger array on a federal lease east of Virginia Beach.

The foundations, consisting of the turbines’ monopiles, transition pieces and anode cages fabricated by metals manufacturer EEW SPC, were loaded at Rostock, Germany onto the Bigroll Beaufort, a 568-foot Netherlands-flagged flat deck cargo ship. Turbine components were loaded at Esbjerg, Denmark, before the vessel embarked in mid-April. Arrival is expected around April 25 in Halifax, according to commercial vessel tracking services.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

The Deepwater Horizon Disaster Fueled a Gulf Science Bonanza

April 23, 2020 — After the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded a decade ago this month, killing 11 workers and spewing a massive black curtain of crude oil across the Gulf of Mexico, thousands of first responders and cleanup workers arrived on the scene. So too did an army of scientists. Aboard seagoing research vessels and wading along beaches and marshes, they came to assess the catastrophe and track it over time. British Petroleum, owner of the rig, agreed to fund a scientific stimulus package of $500 million just a few weeks after the April 20, 2010, blowout.

The 134 million gallons of oil devastated wildlife from Texas to Florida, killing thousands of marine mammals, such as dolphins and sea turtles, according to federal officials, and destroying shoreline and underwater habitats for commercially important fish, crabs, shrimp, and oysters. More than 25,000 fishermen and seafood industry workers were suddenly out of work, with a 10-year price tag of $4.5 billion in total economic losses, according to a 2019 study by a trio of researchers funded in part by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Read the full story at Wired

NEW JERSEY: Wind Council Releases Report on Plan for NJ WIND Institute

April 23, 2020 — Gov. Phil Murphy’s Wind Council today released a report detailing plans for creating the Wind Innovation and New Development (WIND) Institute. The WIND Institute will serve as a center for education, research, innovation, and workforce training related to the development of offshore wind in New Jersey and the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region.

In August 2019, Governor Murphy signed Executive Order No. 79, establishing a Council for the Wind Innovation and New Development Institute, charged with developing and implementing a plan to create a regional hub for New Jersey’s burgeoning offshore wind industry and build upon the Murphy Administration’s commitment to making New Jersey a national leader in offshore wind. The Council includes representatives from the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the Board of Public Utilities, the Department of Education, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

“Offshore wind is coming to the United States and bringing billions of investment dollars and thousands of jobs along with it,” said Governor Murphy. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to not only grow New Jersey’s economy, but also move rapidly toward a clean energy future that puts us on a path to 100 percent clean energy by 2050. The report released today outlines our plans for establishing a WIND Institute that will facilitate workforce development, research, and innovation in New Jersey’s offshore wind industry, ensuring that we take full advantage of this opportunity to grow our economy and create new opportunities for New Jersey workers while protecting our environment.”

To inform its recommendations, the Wind Council assessed the state of the offshore wind industry in New Jersey, conducted a gap analysis of workforce assets in the state, and facilitated discussions with a range of stakeholder groups, including offshore wind industry members, organized labor, four-year colleges and universities, community colleges, vocational technical schools and comprehensive high schools, and fisheries.

Read the full story at New Jersey Business

Wind Team Fishery Biologist Embraces Opportunities for Innovation, Collaboration

April 22, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Lisa Methratta is the fishery biologist for the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s offshore wind team. She brings academic training and professional experience in ecological research to bear on the study of offshore wind interactions with fish and fisheries.

“I am interested in designing new approaches for studying the ecological effects of offshore wind in marine ecosystems,” says Methratta, who previously worked for NOAA Fisheries as the national aquaculture liaison in the Office of Protected Resources. One of her tasks there was to lead an agency-wide working group examining the risks to protected species posed by offshore aquaculture.

“Wind power and aquaculture will each interact with the marine ecosystem in unique ways, many of which we are still learning about,” Methratta says. “Innovative, scientifically rigorous research will enrich our understanding of these interactions and support a healthy ecosystem with sustainable fisheries and industrial development in the offshore zone.”

Read the full release here

BOEM considers virtual public comment on Vineyard Wind study

April 22, 2020 — A wider federal study of the Vineyard Wind project and cumulative impacts of offshore wind development off the East Coast is holding to schedule despite the coronavirus crisis, with a decision expected by December, a top federal official said Tuesday.

With their offices closed, federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management reviewers are working remotely to compile findings toward a final environmental impact statement for the 804-megawatt Vineyard Wind project off southern New England, said James Bennett, chief of BOEM’s renewable energy program.

But public health measures to combat the spread of coronavirus have derailed the agency’s plans for gathering stakeholder comment, including public hearings starting in June, Bennett said during IPF20 Virtual, an online conference hosted this week by the Business Network for Offshore Wind.

“We’re in the process now of planning some kind of virtual event” that would similarly inform the public of what BOEM has been finding, and gather in additional information and comments, Bennett told news reporters during a media availability Tuesday morning.

The public comment process required by the National Environmental Policy Act is another avenue that is bringing formal and written commentary into the review as well, he said.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

10 years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, oil pollution found in thousands of fish, study says

April 21, 2020 — Oil pollution has been detected in thousands of fish in the Gulf of Mexico, including higher levels in popular seafood choices like yellowfin tuna, tilefish and red drum, according to a new study.

The research was carried out between 2011 and 2018, sampling more than 2,500 individual fish that belonged to 91 species living in 359 different locations in the Gulf. All of them contained oil exposure.

When the Deepwater Horizon explosion occurred 10 years ago, millions of gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf of Mexico’s waters over 87 days. The BP oil spill became the largest accidental oil spill in US history.

After the explosion, researchers, like those at the University of South Florida, raced to study the spill and its environmental effects in real time.

Weeks later, BP made a 10-year, $500 million commitment to fund research. While the funding comes to a close this year, research done over the last 10 years is being released.

Read the full story at CNN