June 9, 2023 — A legislative committee on Wednesday approved a bill to boost offshore wind power.
The measure sets a goal for the Public Utilities Commission to contract for 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy installed by 2040.
NEW YORK: NY offshore wind developers also seek price relief
June 8, 2023 — MAJOR OFFSHORE wind developers in New York say their projects may no longer be financially viable unless regulators amend their power purchase agreements to include adjustments for inflation and interconnection costs.
In petitions filed with state regulators on Wednesday, the New York wind farm operators followed the same script as developers in Massachusetts, who say their projects have been overwhelmed by inflation, rising interest rates, supply chain disruption, and the war in Ukraine.
The Massachusetts developers initially sought to modify their existing power purchase agreements, but when that plea fell on deaf ears at the Department of Public Utilities they moved to terminate the agreements they signed last year and rebid the projects at higher prices in a procurement coming in 2024.
In New York, the developers are asking state regulators to agree to price adjustments in the existing contracts. They point out that New York has approved including similar price adjustments as part of the state’s third offshore wind procurement process, and now should retroactively apply them to contracts approved in the first two procurements.
NEW JERSEY: Offshore wind encounters turbulence over NJ
June 8, 2023 — The offshore wind industry’s troubles continue to pile up — not only in New Jersey but in neighboring states along the Eastern Seaboard.
On Wednesday, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities President Joseph Fiordaliso, perhaps one of the sector’s biggest advocates, let loose with an uncharacteristic rant at a developer in the emerging industry. Although he did not name the company, it was seen as a reference to Ørsted, which owns and is developing New Jersey’s initial offshore wind project.
Fiordaliso expressed frustration over repeated delays in moving forward with the project. “Your delays are intolerable,’’ he said. As was his custom, he had an offshore wind logo pinned on his suit.
“We cannot afford any more delays,’’ Fiordaliso said, adding there are no delays in the pace of climate change. “Some of the things that are being delayed are indefensible.’’
The agency, which is overseeing the state’s offshore wind efforts, also deferred action on a related issue that Brian Lipman, director of the Division of Rate Counsel, urged the regulators to delay. In a letter to the agency, Lipman said his office had no opportunity to assess the potential impact of a proposal to make changes in how the state connects electricity generated by the wind farms to the power grid.
MASSACHUSETTS: Turbine blades arrive in New Bedford as second heavy load carrier navigates harbor
June 7, 2023 –A few hours after the UHL Felicity departed the Port of New Bedford to head back to Portugal, another blue-hulled heavy load carrier, RollDock Sky, eased through the hurricane barrier Tuesday morning, bringing more wind turbine parts (this time, blades) into port.
The foreign-flagged 460-foot vessel departed the Netherlands in May, and then stopped in Gaspe, Canada, to retrieve blades from General Electric’s manufacturing facility before coming to New Bedford.
A GE spokesperson said the vessel was carrying six blades. The 62-turbine project, with three bladers per tower, will require 186 in total. The carrier’s deck equipment obfuscated the 351-foot blades a bit, but four were visible atop the ship.
The movement of new parts comes a few days after the local longshoremen’s union reached a contract with Vineyard Wind. The union previously shut down work at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal — the project’s staging site — in protest of Vineyard Wind’s hiring practices. The strike started one day after the first turbine components arrived, and ended late last week.
Prior to the contract, 12 local longshoremen members had part-time positions for Vineyard Wind out of more than 300 union workers, most of which came from the Boston area. The new contract guarantees a 40-hour week for some workers and hires additional part-time longshoremen, The Light reported.
Read the full article at The New Bedford Light
NEW YORK: Trying to explain the whys of Long Island wind farms
June 5, 2023 — A group of experts attempted to explain to a large crowd at Long Beach’s City Hall last Wednesday the need for a plan by New York State to construct a wind farm off Long Island’s South Shore.
The plan has generated considerable controversy in Long Beach and Oceanside, over health issues generated by cables stretching from the wind turbines to the E.F. Barrett Power Plant in Island Park.
But the experts were not always successful.
The presentation was organized by the Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE) led by its executive director, Adrienne Esposito.
Topics included the basics of the Offshore Wind project, the dangers of electromagnetic fields (EMFs), how the project will affect marine life and the benefit for local labor and jobs.
Lawsuit claiming to save whales by delaying Vineyard Wind project dismissed. Now what?
May 31, 2023 — A lawsuit filed with hopes of stopping construction of Vineyard Wind 1, expected to begin installing turbines soon in waters about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, was recently dismissed from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Brought to court in August 2021 by Nantucket Residents Against Turbines – which also goes by ACKRATS – the suit was filed primarily out of concern for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, as well as other marine animals and the marine ecosystem, in the offshore wind development area designated in federal waters on the outer continental shelf. The Nantucket residents also cited concern about impacts on Nantucket’s historic landmark status.
Touted as the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, Vineyard Wind, under development by Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is on track to generate 800-megawatts of electricity annually, powering more than 400,000 homes, starting later this year. Plans call for 62 General Electric Haliade-X turbines, spaced 1 nautical mile apart.
MASSACHUSETTS: Port users: Here’s how to get notified of offshore wind vessel transits in New Bedford
May 31, 2023 — Major ships carrying wind turbine parts from Canada and Europe will arrive with great frequency in the Port of New Bedford this summer — activity that will necessitate temporary closures and interruptions in the harbor and hurricane barrier. To keep port users apprised, the New Bedford Port Authority launched a text notification system to alert commercial and recreational operators of upcoming offshore wind vessel transits.
“Now that we have experienced the first large scale offshore wind vessel entering the harbor, and with the increase in regularity of offshore wind vessel activity, we want to be able to notify our port users on the frequency and size of these vessels to minimize any disruptions or delay,” said Gordon Carr, executive director of the Port Authority, in an email Friday.
Offshore construction and installation for the Vineyard Wind project off of Martha’s Vineyard will pick up speed this summer, which means many heavy-load carriers and barges will be coming in and out of the port with giant offshore wind towers, nacelles and blades.
Read the full article at the New Bedford Light
NEW JERSEY: Wind Farm Protesters March in Ocean City
May 31, 2023 — Kathleen Harper said she had never been part of an organized protest before. But she felt compelled to join with other protesters Saturday in Ocean City in opposition to a proposed offshore wind farm project that critics believe would be nothing less than an environmental “disaster.”
Harper, who lives in Dennis Township, carried a sign that declared, “Stop the Wind Turbines. Save the Whales. Protect Our Oceans.” She also placed a toy shark on top of her head as another symbol of her concerns for the marine life.
“I’m worried about the loss of our whales and the destruction of our ocean floor,” she said.
Harper reflects a growing movement that has brought together grass-roots protesters like herself with political leaders representing the coastal communities at the Jersey Shore to oppose plans for the Ocean Wind 1 project that would stretch from Atlantic City to Stone Harbor, 15 miles offshore.
Amid applause and cheers from Harper and other protesters, speaker after speaker denounced the wind farm during a rally Saturday morning that began in a small park across from City Hall and continued with a march across the Route 52 causeway bridge connecting Ocean City and Somers Point.
NEW JERSEY: Blue state county votes unanimously against offshore wind development
May 31, 2023 — A county in New Jersey voted unanimously to oppose an offshore wind farm proposed for its coastline, citing the project’s negative impacts on the environment, tourism industry and beach vistas.
In a 4-0 vote this week, the Cape May County, New Jersey, Board of Commissioners passed a resolution green-lighting reasonable use of all the county’s resources to oppose the wind projects developed by Danish multinational energy company Orsted. The county is also considering legal options and appealed a state public utility permit it says would transfer “real property interests” from residents to Orsted.
“At first, the County of Cape May was interested in trying to work with Orsted to find a way forward, perhaps with some modifications to the project to reduce visual, environmental and economic impacts,” Cape May County Board of Commissioners Director Len Desiderio said in a statement.
Biden admin advances first-ever wind leasing in Gulf of Mexico amid calls for moratorium
May 31 2023 — The Biden administration inched closer to green-lighting offshore wind energy lease sales spanning about 682,000 acres in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a final environmental assessment which it described as a “key milestone” as part of the Biden administration’s goal of holding the first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. The assessment, which analyzed impacts leasing would have on the environment and wildlife, was coincided with a finding of no significant impacts.
“The completion of our environmental review is an important step forward to advance clean energy development in a responsible manner while promoting economic vitality and well-paying jobs in the Gulf of Mexico region,” BOEM Director Liz Klein said in a statement.
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