Saving Seafood

Massachusetts wind-power project to move forward despite shutdown

January 25, 2019 — The U.S. Interior Department will press forward with a wind power project during the partial government shutdown using money already granted by Congress, its acting head announced Thursday.

The move could assuage Democrats’ concerns about the Trump administration pushing for oil drilling in the Arctic during the shutdown, which has lasted 34 days.

Avangrid Renewables wants to build an 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts near Martha’s Vineyard. Public meetings on the project were canceled during the shutdown and will be rescheduled, according to acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt.

Wind is generally viewed as an alternative to fossil fuels that is better for the environment because it is renewable, readily available and does not create air emissions.

Read the full story at Reuters

Wind project partners with environmentalists on rare whales

January 24, 2019 — The developer of an offshore wind energy project is partnering with environmental groups on a plan to try to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

The whale is one of the rarest marine mammals. It’s thought to number only 411 individuals . The animals travel through New England waters every year.

Vineyard Wind, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Wildlife Federation and the Conservation Law Foundation announced an agreement designed to protect the whales on Wednesday.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Gloucester Daily Times

New Hampshire Enters the Offshore Wind Race

January 22, 2019 — New Hampshire may soon join the handful of New England states actively pursuing offshore wind energy development.

On January 2, Governor Chris Sununu sent a letter to Walter Cruickshank, the acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, requesting that the agency establish an intergovernmental offshore renewable energy task force. The move is the first step in a multiyear process.

“The task force will mirror those in other states,” said Matthew Mailloux, an energy advisor with New Hampshire’s Office of Strategic Initiatives, in an email.

“Its purpose is to facilitate coordination with federal and New Hampshire stakeholders to determine the feasibility of offshore wind in federal waters off New Hampshire’s coast. This is a preliminary step in a lengthy process prior to any decision,” he said.

Read the full story at Green Tech Media

Court: No new offshore drilling work during federal shutdown

January 21, 2019 — A federal judge in South Carolina has turned back the Trump administration’s attempt to continue preparatory work for offshore drilling during the federal government’s partial shutdown, issuing a ruling in a federal lawsuit challenging the overall expansion plans.

In his order, U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel halted federal agencies “from taking action to promulgate permits, otherwise approve, or take any other official action” for permits to conduct testing that’s needed before drilling work can begin.

The ruling comes a few days after President Donald Trump’s decision this week to recall workers at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management so they could continue to process testing permits for possible drilling off the Atlantic coastline. The recall drew an objection from the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee chairman, Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva (gri-HAWL-vah) of Arizona. He called on Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to reverse course or provide a briefing on the legal justification for the move.

Earlier this month, South Carolina joined a federal lawsuit opposing the administration’s plans to conduct offshore drilling tests using seismic air guns. Gergel is overseeing that case, initially filed by environmental groups and municipalities along the state’s coast.

The suit challenges permits for the testing that precedes the drilling itself. It claims the National Marine Fisheries Service violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act in issuing the permits.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Offshore Wind, Commercial Fishing Industries Partnering Up In Unusual Collaboration

January 18, 2019 — The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), a group representing fishermen from Maine to North Carolina formed specifically to interact with offshore wind companies, and developer Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind (formerly Deepwater Wind) said the partnership is the first-of-its-kind.

As development of offshore wind farms is underway off of Rhode Island and Massachusetts’ coasts, commercial fishermen have been in talks with developers to figure out the best way to build wind farms that sustain the fishing industry.

However, RODA and Orsted feel the way the industries have been engaging with one another has been inefficient.

“The fishermen are being pulled in a million directions and we’re very excited to have a more structured approach where we can get that input and give it back to the developers as well as to the government,” Annie Hawkins, executive director of RODA, said.

Jeff Grybowski, Co-CEO of Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind, agreed the new partnership will make it easier for the industries to communicate.

“It can often be difficult for a developer to find the right people to talk to because obviously fishermen are, they’re small businesses and some of them are big businesses, but there are lots of different people,” Grybowski said.

Hawkins added the goal is to have fewer, more productive meetings, however any recommendations that come out of them are nonbinding.

Commercial fishermen have raised multiple concerns about offshore wind farms, such as the layout of the turbines affecting their access to fishing grounds and ability to safely return to shore, and spinning turbines interfering with their radar navigation.

Read the full story at The Public’s Radio

Offshore Wind Giant and Fishing Group Agree to Partnership

January 18, 2019 — A new agreement has been announced between a group representing commercial fishermen and the world’s leading developer of offshore wind farms.

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance and Orstead U.S. Offshore Wind are looking for ways to improve communcation with each other.

Alliance Director Annie Hawkins says the agreement provides a structure to help fishermen give direct input to Orsted.

“Having a structured partnership will create a much better opportunity for fishermen to be involved,” said Hawkins. “It’s a good faith agreement; it provides a forum for the concerns of fishermen to be heard.”

The agreement calls for the creation of a joint industry task force to explore issues like the siting and design of offshore wind facilities.

Hawkins says when it comes to the North Atlantic fisheries, Orsted is still learning. “They are certainly a developer with a lot of experience in offshore wind, but probably a little less experience in dealing with Federal fisheries in the U.S.”

Read the full story at WBSM

New partnership develops with goal of improving talks between offshore wind, fishing

January 18, 2019 — The pool of organizations aiming to generate a mutually beneficial relationship between offshore wind and the commercial fishing industry grew on Thursday.

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) announced a partnership with Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind that is meant to improve communications between the fishing industry and offshore wind developers.

While the agreement was described as a “first-of-its-kind” partnership in the press release, it’s not the first pact agreed upon with the hopes of improving communication.

Last November, the New Bedford Port Authority announced an agreement with all offshore wind developers operating in the Massachusetts/Rhode Island market to serve as the designated Fisheries Representative of the commercial fishing industry to each of the development companies.

Orsted said this agreement would not affect its partnership with the Port Authority. It said it views this most recent announcement as an addition to its relationship with New Bedford.

The agreement between RODA and Orsted is unique in that RODA extends its representations from Maine to North Carolina.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

RODA and Ørsted Partner to Address Fisheries and Offshore Wind Coexistence

January 17, 2019 — BOSTON — The following was released by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance and Ørsted:

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) today announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind to improve communications between the commercial fishing industry and offshore wind energy developers.

This first-of-its-kind partnership will create an unprecedented opportunity for commercial fishermen to provide direct input to the wind energy industry on matters of significant interest to their businesses. Under this partnership, both industries will remain autonomous but provide a platform to move towards workable solutions. While non-binding in nature, it is RODA and Ørsted’s hope that discussions will prove beneficial to all parties involved.

“Partnering with Ørsted is a significant step forward as we look to strengthen our ongoing dialogue between commercial fishermen and offshore wind developers,” said RODA Executive Director Annie Hawkins. “RODA believes that we need to develop solutions for offshore wind energy and commercial fishing to coexist, and today’s announcement will support future sustainability for both industries.”

“We are proud to be the first offshore wind developer to partner with RODA, which is an important part to the future of offshore wind,” said CEO of Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind and President of Ørsted North America Thomas Brostrøm. “The fishing community must be considered as offshore wind development continues in the U.S. Through this partnership, we will be able to share our concerns in a productive way and develop practical solutions as we all seek to coexist and thrive for a better tomorrow.”

RODA is the only national commercial fishing organization that is purpose-built for interacting with the offshore wind industry to maintain sustainable fisheries. Based from Midcoast Maine to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, it also has the broadest geographic and gear-type range of any East Coast fishing industry membership organization active in offshore wind engagement.

The RODA Board of Directors consists of fishing industry representatives who bring over 200 years of combined operational and management experience, split across the range of federally and state-managed Atlantic fisheries. One of RODA’s primary goals is to ensure that the fishing industry’s input at-large is received, considered, and accommodated to the maximum extent possible in leasing, design, construction, and operations of new offshore developments.

“It is extremely vital that our nation’s fishermen are heard when offshore wind projects are being developed,” said RODA Chairman and Director of Sustainability at Atlantic Capes Fisheries Peter Hughes. “Ørsted has made it clear that they want to be partners with the fishing industry, and we are optimistic that our work with them will set a standard ensuring that fishermen have direct input into wind farm designs and ensuring that their concerns are fully embraced by developers.”

A core component of the partnership will be the creation of a joint industry task force to explore improved approaches to project siting, design, and operations. The two industries have already engaged in extensive communication regarding topics ranging from navigation concerns (including transit lanes and turbine layouts) and other impacts avoidance to identifying a mutual interest in developing transparent strategies for long-term mitigation. This new initiative will provide a more structured process for further collaboration between the two industries.

Ørsted and RODA strongly encourage other offshore wind energy developers and commercial fishermen to join this partnership in order to develop well-informed and enduring approaches to best practices and provide broad representation of the industries.

For more information on joining RODA as a fishing industry member, or joining the joint advisory panel as a member of the offshore wind development community, please contact info@rodafisheries.org.

About Ørsted

Ørsted delivers clean, renewable energy along the US Eastern Seaboard. Through Ørsted US Offshore Wind, the company operates Block Island Wind Farm, America’s first offshore wind farm, and has a comprehensive geographic coverage with the largest pipeline of development capacity, totaling over 8GW in seven states. It is jointly headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island and employs over 100 people.

As the world’s leading developer of offshore wind farms, Ørsted has installed 5.6GW offshore wind capacity in Europe and has a further 3.4GW under construction. It is Ørsted’s ambition to have installed a total offshore wind capacity of 15GW worldwide by 2025. The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs and operates offshore wind farms, bioenergy plants and innovative waste-to-energy solutions and provides smart energy products to its customers. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 6,000 people. Ørsted’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Ørsted). In 2017, the group’s revenue was DKK 59.5 billion (EUR 8.0 billion). For more information on Ørsted, visit https://orsted.com/ or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

About RODA

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) is a broad membership-based coalition of fishing industry associations and fishing companies with an interest in improving the compatibility of new offshore development with their businesses. It supports science- and evidence-based approaches to ocean resource management, including through the use of robust public-private partnerships and collaborative research. For industry communications, public relations, and media relations, RODA is partnering with Stove Boat Communications, a Washington, D.C.-based public affairs firm with expertise in oceans and fisheries issues. Together, RODA and Stove Boat will foster improved communication, ensure published materials are factual, and make information accessible to fishermen and the public

Media Contacts:

Ørsted North America

Lauren Burm, 617-309-8730

laubu@orsted.com

Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA)

Bob Vanasse, 202-333-2628

bob@stoveboat.com

 

Offshore Oil Drilling in Florida Still Possible Despite Ban

January 16, 2019 — Floridians took a stand against offshore oil drilling Nov. 6 by voting their opposition into the state constitution, where it’s almost certain to stay for at least a generation.

The issue resonates with Alan Johnson, mayor of St. Pete Beach (population “pushing 10,000”), a 6-mile-long, sandy tourist magnet on Florida’s Gulf coast.

“The big problem that people relate to here is that they’ve been to Houston, where they can see the oil rigs offshore, and they complain about big balls of tar on the beaches. Everybody’s deathly afraid of that happening here,” Johnson says. “We’re the designated sunset capital of Florida and the last thing we want to do is ruin that.”

So did passage of Amendment 9, the new ban on drilling in Florida coastal waters, solve the problem?

Johnson is doubtful. “There was a lot of confusion as to what it really accomplished,” he says. “We’re at the mercy of what happens in Washington.”

State waters extend 3 nautical miles off the coast, but the states have no direct control over 200 miles of federal waters. And oil ignores man-made borders.

Read the full story at U.S. News and World Report

Fishermen: Gov. Raimondo sidelined us from wind-power talks

January 16, 2019 — Rhode Island fishermen are accusing Gov. Gina Raimondo of cutting them out of talks with Vineyard Wind about compensation for lost access to ocean fishing grounds where the New Bedford company plans to install 84 giant wind turbines.

The state’s Fishermen’s Advisory Board, the group convened to represent the commercial and recreational fishing industries in the face of offshore renewable energy development, is set to meet Tuesday to consider a potential payout from Vineyard Wind. Yet, as of late Monday, the board had not received any details of a proposal.

Lanny Dellinger, chairman of the fishermen’s board, questioned why he and other members have been kept in the dark. He also said any negotiations that have taken place have violated state regulations.

“I don’t know why the governor feels it’s more important to benefit Vineyard Wind than our own fishing industry,” he said. “Maybe we’re just small potatoes in their eyes and easy to run over.”

Raimondo spokesman Josh Block said that the governor’s office “has been in contact with Vineyard Wind regarding an economic-development package for Rhode Island if the project is approved,” but he referred questions about compensation to the state Department of Environmental Management, which regulates the fishing industries.

DEM spokesman Michael Healey said the agency’s “only role is developing a science-based estimate of the value of the commercial fishing landings in the proposed Vineyard Wind construction area over 30 years” — the estimated project lifespan.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal