Saving Seafood

An unusually high number of whales are washing up on U.S. beaches

February 6, 2023 — Researchers are trying to figure out a mystery: Why are so many humpback whales, right whales, and other large mammals dying along the U.S. East Coast? One possible explanation is a shift in food habits. And while theories are circulating that blame the growing offshore wind industry, scientists say there’s no proof to support that idea.

Since Dec. 1, at least 18 reports have come in about large whales being washed ashore along the Atlantic Coast, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Network. The losses are hitting populations that were already under watch, due to ongoing rises in unexpected deaths.

“Unfortunately, it’s been a period of several years where we have had elevated strandings of large whales, but we are still concerned about this pulse” in deaths that’s now been going on for weeks, as Sarah Wilkin, the coordinator for the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, said on a recent call with journalists.

Read the full article NPR

Offshore wind energy plans in the Gulf take a back seat to oil drilling under new law

February 6, 2023 — President Joe Biden’s administration is tapping the brakes on offshore wind energy development in the Gulf of Mexico to make way for a new fast-tracked effort to open more federal waters to oil and gas drilling.

The move, which runs counter to Biden’s ambitious goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and speeding the growth of renewable energy, will delay the first-ever auction of wind energy lease areas in the Gulf by at least six months.

Wind energy companies had been lining up to bid on a 174,000-acre area south of Lake Charles and a 508,000-acre area near Galveston, Texas in late December. The two lease areas have the potential to generate enough power for almost 3 million homes, according to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. But Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act put those plans on hold, likely until sometime this summer, federal regulators confirmed this week.

Read the full article at nola.com

The Shift to Renewable Energy Is Speeding Up. Here’s How.

February 1, 2023 — Wars have unintended consequences.

Russia’s war in Ukraine seems to have sped up the global energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables.

This is a big deal. Most of us take for granted that we will enter a dark room and flick on the lights, that our homes will be warm in winter, that we will look out the window of a car and watch the world go by.

But what powers our lives is undergoing a huge change.

Consider three recent developments.

First, according to the International Energy Agency, an estimated $1.4 trillion poured into “clean energy” projects in 2022, a category that includes solar farms, batteries and electric vehicle charging stations. That’s more than ever before, and more than the money that poured into new oil and gas projects. Fatih Birol, the head of the agency, described the energy crisis spurred by the Russian invasion as “an accelerator for clean energy transitions.”

Second, BloombergNEF, a research firm, described this direction of change in a report published last week. Investments in low-carbon energy “reached parity” with capital aimed at expanding fossil fuels, it said.

Read the full article at The New York Times

NEW JERSEY: 12 Jersey Shore mayors call for moratorium on offshore wind following whale deaths

January 31, 2023 — A group of Jersey Shore mayors are calling for an “immediate moratorium” on offshore wind energy development until federal and state scientists can assure the public that ocean noise related to underwater seabed mapping, soil borings and other turbine construction activities poses no threat to whales.

The announcement followed news that another humpback whale had died off of the coasts of New Jersey and New York and washed ashore in Lido Beach, Nassau County, New York, according to numerous reports.

“While we are not opposed to clean energy, we are concerned about the impacts these (offshore wind) projects may already be having on our environment,” the 12 New Jersey mayors wrote in a joint letter to Washington officials.

The mayors include six from Ocean and Monmouth counties: Joseph Mancini of Long Beach Township, Samuel Cohen of Deal, Paul M. Kanitra of Point Pleasant Beach, William W. Curtis of Bay Head, Lance White of Mantoloking, and Jennifer Naughton of Spring Lake.

Read the full article at MSN.com

Whale deaths no match for pursuit of East Coast offshore wind farms

January 30, 2023 — A spate of whales washing up along East Coast beaches has exposed a deep rift in the environmental movement between conservationists seeking to stop the construction of massive offshore wind farms and advocates who say renewable energy projects will save the planet from climate change.

A group of environmentalists is calling on New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to halt work on ocean wind projects after a sudden increase in whale strandings on the region’s seashores.

In a little more than a month, seven dead whales, most of them humpbacks, have washed up on New Jersey and New York beaches. That is a record in a region that typically has a similar number of beached whales in an entire year.

Read the full article at The Washington Times

Orsted, Eversource Propose New York Offshore Wind Project

January 27, 2023 — Ørsted and Eversource have submitted a joint proposal in response to New York State’s third round of offshore wind solicitations. Together, Ørsted and Eversource are building South Fork Wind, New York’s first offshore wind farm, which broke ground early last year and will be operational with 130 MW in 2023, and Sunrise Wind, a 924 MW project that will deliver clean energy to New York in late 2025.

In July 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced New York’s third competitive offshore wind solicitation for a minimum of 2,000 MW of offshore wind, which will power at least 1.5 million additional New York homes with clean, affordable energy. This third solicitation marks additional progress toward achieving New York State’s Climate Act mandate to secure 70% of the State’s electricity from renewable energy by 2030 and at least 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035.

Read the full story at North American Windpower

U.S. Offshore Wind: Still Affordable?

January 26, 2023 — Later this year, the 800-megawatt capacity Vineyard Wind 1 project will begin delivering electricity to the Massachusetts grid. And lead owner Avangrid Inc along with its 81.65 percent owner Iberdrola SA have indicated the project remains on budget for when it enters full commercial operations, expected in early 2024.

After that, however, the way ahead for U.S. offshore wind is considerably less clear. The Biden Administration is supportive as ever, pledging last month to expedite permitting to the construction stage for at least 16 offshore wind arrays by 2025.

That now includes a published draft environmental review of Dominion Energy’s proposed 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) facility. The project will be developed with a vessel owned by the company and now being built in Texas, which should allow management to control costs and potentially profit by leasing for other offshore wind construction.

Read the full article at Forbes

Dead whales and tough economics bedevil Biden’s massive wind energy push

January 26, 2023 — The school-bus-size humpback whale that washed ashore on a narrow beach in Brigantine, N.J., this month weighed in at 12 tons and took a heavy emotional toll on coastal towns helplessly witnessing a spate of such deaths.

The humpback was one of nine large whales to get stranded over six weeks on or near beaches in the Northeast, not far from where developers of hundreds of offshore wind turbines are engaged in a flurry of preconstruction activity. The deaths have prompted pushback against the projects even though government scientists say they are unrelated.

It’s the latest in a string of threats to a fledgling offshore wind industry that climate advocates say is central to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Surging costs from inflation and labor shortages have developers saying their projects may not be profitable. A raft of lawsuits and pending federal restrictions to protect sensitive wildlife could further add to costs. The uncertainty has clouded bright expectations for massive growth in U.S. offshore wind, which the Biden administration and several state governments have bet big on in their climate plans.

Read the full article at The Washington Post

MAINE: Maine lawmakers reveal plan to bring floating wind turbines to Gulf of Maine

January 25, 2023 — A big plan was revealed in Augusta Tuesday to bring floating wind turbines to the Gulf of Maine.

The bill to jumpstart offshore wind development was unveiled at the State House.

Supporters claim the bill is about boosting responsible offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine, saying it will help drive down energy costs across the board.

They believe Maine could become an industry leader in offshore wind as a potential major source of clean energy.

Read the full article at WGME

 

Vineyard Wind opponents ask federal judge to halt project over environmental concerns

January 26, 2023 — Opponents of an offshore wind turbine farm under construction south of Martha’s Vineyard are asking a federal judge to halt the project, and require federal authorities to take another look at the project’s potential impacts on the environment and wildlife.

The nonprofit group Nantucket Residents Against Turbines is trying to put the brakes on Vineyard Wind, which was approved in May 2021 by the Biden administration, and is being built a dozen or so miles off the resort island.

Amy DiSibio, a member of the group’s board, told reporters before a hearing Tuesday in US District Court in Boston that federal endangered species and environmental laws were not “carefully considered” when the project was approved, and deserve much more scrutiny, she said.

Read the full article at the Boston Globe