Saving Seafood

MAINE: Maine committee holds hearing on competing offshore wind bills

May 22, 2023 — Two competing bills – one accelerating offshore wind technology, the other hitting the brakes on it – were taken up by a Maine legislative panel Thursday during a lengthy, hours-long public hearing that stretched late into the evening.

The Maine Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Technology heard from dozens of environmental advocates, fishermen, and residents on Legislative Document 1884, an act to prohibit offshore wind energy development, and Legislative Document 1895, an action regarding the procurement of energy from offshore wind resources.

If enacted, LD1884 would change the course of ramping up offshore wind as a renewable energy source – not just within Maine but across New England and north of the international border.

Read the full article at The Center Square

Gulf of Maine offshore wind developers open for public comment

May 22, 2023 — As offshore wind developers inch closer to the horizon, fishermen on the East Coast are eagerly searching for answers.

On May 10-11, the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM) hosted the Gulf of Maine Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force Meeting at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine.

The purpose of the two-day meetings was to update task force members and the public on BOEM’s commercial and research offshore wind energy planning activities and discuss the next steps for the Gulf of Maine, including a Call for Information and Nominations.

More information from BOEM can be found here.

On May 3, 2023, BOEM announced the publication of the Gulf of Maine’s Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Assessment for a wind energy research lease on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf offshore Maine in the Federal Register on May 4, 2023.

This meeting gave the greater public and fishermen the ability to ask questions in person to BOEM members, as well as an open 30-day public comment period that will end June 5 at 11:59 p.m.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Judge rejects lawsuit by Nantucket residents to block wind turbines, protect right whales

May 19, 2023 — A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit brought by Nantucket residents who argued that the planned construction of dozens of wind turbines off the affluent resort island threatens the survival of endangered Northern Atlantic right whales.

Nantucket Residents Against Turbines said Vineyard Wind’s proposed project of some 62 turbines in waters 14 miles (22 kilometers) south of the island is in a crucial area for foraging and nursing for the dwindling species, which researchers estimate to number about 340.

In a ruling issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani found the group failed to show that either the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management or the National Marine Fisheries Service violated the Endangered Species Act or the National Environmental Policy Act in issuing a 2021 biological opinion or final environmental impact statement for the wind energy project.

Read the full article at the Gloucester Times

New Jersey State Senator Michael Testa claims ENGO hypocrisy on offshore wind and whales

May 19, 2023 — The following transcript is excerpted from an interview by New Jersey State Senator Michael Testa on Fox & Friends:

Fox & Friends: GOP lawmakers in New Jersey want an immediate stop to offshore wind projects over growing concern about a spike in whale deaths. Since December alone, 32 dead whales have washed up on beaches along the East Coast. Republican state senators are asking for a 30 to 60 day pause on construction to see if it helps. Michael Testa is one of them and he joins us now.

So who exactly are the groups or the people who would be opposing a 30 to 60 day, very sensible pause to see what’s going on with the whales?

Sen. Testa: Well, it seems to be Ørsted, who’s the company that wants to have the wind farms, as well as the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, which makes absolutely no sense to me because I always thought that those were the groups that were there to protect the whales and to create bumper stickers that say ‘save the whales.’ And I think that they’re being completely intellectually disingenuous here. We know that if this were an exploration for offshore oil drilling, that if one whale carcass were to wash up on one of New Jersey’s shores, they would be surrounding that carcass holding hands with, you know, tears streaming down their face, singing Kumbaya.

Fox & Friends: What is their explanation for not wanting to see an environmental impact on whales?

Sen. Testa: Well, their explanation is the reason that the whales and dolphins are washing up on our shores in record numbers is due to climate change. That’s why we need to rush to erect these massive wind farms, which, you know, quite frankly, a lot of people have now testified and believe are contributing to whales washing up on our shores in record numbers. But it’s always their cry. This is their mantra. This is climate change. And if you ever question their green energy agenda, you’re labelled a science denier, a climate change denier.

We also have to really question what the environmental impact is going to be to our commercial fishing industry as well as our recreational fishing industry and look, Cape May County, Atlantic County, Ocean County and Monmouth County, tourism is the lifeblood of their summer economy.What are these wind farms going to do if whales and dolphins continue to wash up on our shores?

We also don’t know what the erection of these massive wind farms [is] going to do to our ocean floor and what type of environmental long term environmental impact that is going to have on our oyster business, scallop business.

Watch the full interview here

NEW JERSEY: Wind project scope ‘staggering’

May 18, 2023 — It wasn’t “until the whales and the dolphins started washing up that people’s attention was able to focus” on the offshore wind farms, according to Cindy Zipf, and when people looked beyond the whales, they realized what is happening is “staggering.”

“I don’t think ever in the history of mankind have we proposed to industrialize an ecosystem this fast and at this magnitude,” she said.

Zipf is executive director of Clean Ocean Action, a coalition of groups dedicated to protecting the ocean.

She said the group is not against offshore wind farms but ardently believes there should be a pilot project to determine their impact on the ocean, marine species and industries that thrive on the ocean rather than a headlong rush to place turbines up and down the coast not just off New Jersey, but from South Carolina to Massachusetts.

The project closest to fruition here is Ocean Wind 1 by the Danish company Ørsted. Ocean Wind 1 plans 98 massive wind turbines 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic and Cape May counties with transmission cables that would run through Ocean City to Beesleys Point in Upper Township, where they would connect to the power grid.

Read the full article at Ocean City Sentinel 

NEW JERSEY: Snooki, Tucker Carlson and the battle for offshore wind in New Jersey

May 18, 2023 — On a recent drive to the Statehouse here, New Jersey’s top utility regulator turned on 101.5 FM, a conservative talk radio station, and got an earful about the offshore wind farms the state has staked its energy future on.

The morning show host was going off about a surge in whale deaths and an unfounded link between the dead whales and wind energy.

“All I do on the way down is yell at the radio,” said Joseph Fiordaliso, the president of the state Board of Public Utilities.

It isn’t just radio conspiracy theories, though. Mainstream Republicans and leading conservatives like former Fox News host Tucker Carlson — not to mention reality star Snooki — have been attacking Gov. Phil Murphy’s offshore wind plans as whales wash ashore. It’s a problem not just for the Democratic governor, who’s pinning his climate change agenda on coastal wind farms, but also for President Joe Biden.

Murphy is hoping New Jersey will be the nation’s leading producer of wind energy by 2040, so a stumble here could blow a hole in the side of the Biden administration’s clean energy goals.

Read the full article at Politico

BOEM analysis considers fish habitat, visual mitigation for Atlantic Shores wind project

May 16, 2023 — The Atlantic Shores offshore wind project would build up to 200 turbines, rated at a maximum 1,510 megawatts, off Long Beach Island, N.J. BOEM graphic.

A draft environmental impact statement for the Atlantic Shores wind project off New Jersey includes alternatives that could reduce the number of wind turbines and cables to reduce their visual impact on coastal communities and impact on fish habitat.

The planned 1,510-megawatt Atlantic Shores array off Atlantic City and Long Beach Island, N.J., would at its closest point be 8.7 nautical miles from shore. The potential visual impact of up to 200 turbines with their rotor tips 1,000 feet above the ocean has brought sustained criticism and legal challenges to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management from coastal homeowners and municipal governments worried about the potential effects of wind projects on tourism.

Fishing interests are concerned about environmental effects of building turbines, and operational and safety difficulties they could present  – particularly for scallop and surf clam vessels that historically fish off New Jersey. The BOEM draft document announced Monday includes options for moving some turbine and cable locations to avoid fish habitat, and create a buffer setback between the Atlantic Shores lease and the neighboring Ocean Wind 1 project Atlantic City.

The DEIS document states that the National Marine Fisheries Service “identified two areas of concern (AOCs) within the Lease Area that have pronounced bottom features and produce habitat value. AOC 1 is part of a designated recreational fishing area called ‘Lobster Hole.’ AOC 2 is part of a sand ridge (ridge and trough) complex.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Poll finds whale strandings drive down New Jersey support for offshore wind

May 15, 2023 — Concern over recent deaths of whales and dolphins along the New Jersey coast is reducing public support for offshore wind power development, with 35 percent of residents supporting the projects and 39 percent saying the projects should be halted, according to a Farleigh Dickinson University poll.

New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration is deeply committed to offshore wind for building the state’s future energy sources. But state officials are under heavy political pressure from offshore wind critics and Republican legislators who call for a moratorium on the projects.

“If we’re going to meet the Murphy administration’s green energy goals, New Jersey needs to build a lot of wind farms, and fast,” said Dan Cassino, a professor of government and politics at Farleigh Dickinson University in Madison, N.J., and director of the FDU Poll. “But the administration just hasn’t convinced the public that it’s a good idea.”

Since a series of whale and dolphin strandings started in December 2022, wind power critics argued there could be a link between the deaths and offshore survey work on energy lease areas. The Murphy administration and federal officials insist there is no proof of a link and rejected calls for a moratorium, but “such arguments seem to be effective,” according to an FDU Poll summary released May 11.

“In the survey, respondents were randomly assigned to be asked about the offshore wind farms in a question that included a mention of the whale and dolphin deaths, or a version without it,” the report states. “Even though the question noted that there was no known link between the deaths and the wind farms, it significantly reduced support for the development of offshore wind.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

BOEM analysis considers fish habitat, visual mitigation for Atlantic Shores wind project

May 15, 2023 — A draft environmental impact statement for the Atlantic Shores wind project off New Jersey includes alternatives that could reduce the number of wind turbines and cables to reduce their visual impact on coastal communities and impact on fish habitat.

The planned 1,510-megawatt Atlantic Shores array off Atlantic City and Long Beach Island, N.J., would at its closest point be 8.7 nautical miles from shore. The potential visual impact of up to 200 turbines with their rotor tips 1,000 feet above the ocean has brought sustained criticism and legal challenges to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management from coastal homeowners and municipal governments worried about the potential effects of wind projects on tourism.

Fishing interests are concerned about environmental effects of building turbines, and operational and safety difficulties they could present  – particularly for scallop and surf clam vessels that historically fish off New Jersey. The BOEM draft document announced Monday includes options for moving some turbine and cable locations to avoid fish habitat, and create a buffer setback between the Atlantic Shores lease and the neighboring Ocean Wind 1 project Atlantic City.

Read the full article at WorkBoat

R.I. fishermen file lawsuit notice over South Fork Wind Farm

May 14, 2023 — A group of Rhode Island fishermen are preparing to sue state and federal agencies and a private wind developer over the construction of a 12-turbine offshore wind farm southeast of Block Island.

Marisa Desautel, an attorney representing the Fisherman’s Advisory Board and individual local fishermen, sent legal notice on Wednesday of her clients’ intentions to sue the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Orsted Offshore North America and the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council.

The notice, which was shared with Rhode Island Current, alleges that construction work for the 132-megawatt South Fork Wind Farm has not followed the agreed-upon plans, therefore violating federal law governing offshore development. Preliminary work laying the cables that will eventually connect the turbines to the mainland electric grid on Long Island, east of Montauk, started last fall. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

Local fishermen say that Orsted, which is co-developing the project with Eversource Energy LLC, illegally expanded the no-fishing and no-travel zone in Rhode Island Sound around the area where it was laying cables last month. The approved construction and operations plan for the project calls for a 500-meter buffer on either side of the cables, but on April 20, fishermen in the area were told, allegedly by an Orsted vessel, that they needed to stay 1.5 miles away from either side of the cable.

Read the full article at Rhode Island Current