Saving Seafood

New legislation curtails offshore wind development in New Hampshire

August 18, 2025 —  New Hampshire’s Office of Offshore Wind Industry Development and Energy Innovation is losing a few words from its title. Now, it’s simply called the Office of Energy Innovation.

The name change announces an erasure of state resources once aimed at boosting offshore wind in the state. A new law signed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte earlier this month eliminated most, if not all, of the language that required the office to specifically support offshore wind development.

Republican Rep. J.D. Bernardy, a sponsor of the bill, said the office will continue to remain updated on offshore wind possibilities, but the energy source will no longer be “driving [the office] forward.”

“They can look at hydrogen, they can look at battery opportunities,” Bernardy added. “It’s a full spectrum of all the various evolving energy sources that are potentially out there.”

The new law also shuts down two related state groups focused on workforce training and economic development. It’s a contrast from Gov. Chris Sununu’s administration, which had established and funded these offices in 2021, and it comes on the heels of the Trump administration rolling back support for offshore wind development by suspending new leases and rescinding funding for federal offices that would have supported those projects.

Read the full article at nhpr

NEW JERSEY: New Jersey revokes approval for Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm; company calls it ‘a pause’

August 14, 2025 — New Jersey utility regulators on Wednesday canceled their preliminary approval of the Atlantic Shores offshore wind energy project as the industry continues to struggle with financial challenges and an all-out assault from President Donald Trump.

But the company called the action “a pause,” not necessarily the end of the project.

The state Board of Public Utilities terminated the Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate for Atlantic Shores, a proposed two-phase wind farm between Atlantic City and Barnegat Light with 197 wind turbines capable of powering 1 million homes.

On June 4, Atlantic Shores asked the BPU to do so, saying the project is “no longer viable” due to Trump’s war on wind power and economic challenges facing the industry.

But it also indicated it might seek to revive the project in the future, calling the cancellation “a reset period.”

Read the full article at The Press of Atlantic City

NEW JERSEY: New Jersey energy regulators delay offshore wind infrastructure, cancel approval for Atlantic Shores project

August 14, 2025 — The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on Wednesday delayed offshore wind power transmission infrastructure in the state by more than two years.

The BPU, which regulates utilities and helps shape the state’s energy policies, said the decision follows President Donald Trump’s move to block plans for offshore wind development.

“Today’s action is a direct response to a shift in federal policy under the current administration, which has created significant uncertainty and potential for offshore wind project delays,” said BPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy in a statement.

The board also canceled its approval of the Atlantic Shores wind project, a two-phase wind farm between Atlantic City and Barnegat Light that aimed to power nearly 1 million homes.

The move was expected, as wind developer Atlantic Shores asked the BPU in June to cancel its contract for the 195-turbine project. The company called the move a temporary “reset” amid financial difficulties and industry uncertainties under a Trump administration that has vowed to increase coal, oil and gas production.

The BPU’s decisions are the latest blow to New Jersey’s plan to cut carbon emissions and reach 100% clean energy by 2035.

“At the end of the day, it’s very hard to lose 1,500 megawatts of electricity at a time when we need not just clean electricity but more electricity, so it’s tough,” Guhl-Sadovy said after the BPU canceled its approval of the Atlantic Shores project.

Read the full article at WHYY

NEW JERSEY: Belford Seafood Co-Op President Says Why He Joined Lawsuit Against Empire Wind Farm

August 12, 2025 — Middletown’s Belford Seafood Co-op joined a host of New Jersey commercial fishing companies in a federal lawsuit against Empire Wind, a wind farm owned by the Kingdom of Norway that is currently under construction 19 miles (17 nautical miles) off Long Branch.

And now today — for the first time — Belford Co-op president and fishing boat captain Richard Isaksen talks about why he is against the wind farm.

“It’s going to interfere with our fishing grounds. We fear we will be stopped from fishing there,” said Isaksen, who lives locally in Middletown. “It changes by season, but those are our prime grounds for fluke, flounder and squid. The underground cables could also disrupt fish.”

Read the full article at the Patch

The offshore wind turbines destroying Britain’s fishing trade

August 11, 2025 — When Ken Bagley led a convoy of fishing boats into battle against the UK’s first wind developers two decades ago, his hope was to save something of the fishing industry that had supported his family since the 1890s.

Bagley’s convoy sailed in front of the barges attempting to install the first turbines in the rich fishing grounds off Skegness, halting work and infuriating the contractors trying to kick-start Britain’s entry into the world of green energy.

“They were installing that turbine into one of the richest mussel beds in the region, so I led 22 boats into the construction area and halted the work. We thought it was a great victory back then,” recalls Bagley, who is chairman of the Boston Fishermen’s Association.

Read the full article at YahooNews!

Offshore wind plans caught in federal headwinds, but sites east of Cape Cod unaffected

August 7, 2025 — State and local officials and regional advocacy groups are split over the federal government’s decision to back off on offshore wind projects, a shift that casts uncertainty over new projects nationwide but doesn’t affect leases east and south of Cape Cod.

State Rep. Steven Xiarhos, R-West Barnstable, welcomes the changes as “a necessary course correction.”

“It reflects what many of us on Cape Cod and across the commonwealth have been saying for some time: the rush to industrialize our oceans has gone too far, too fast, and without enough science, transparency, or respect for local communities,” he said.

He added that the action “gives us a critical opportunity to pause, reassess, and get this right.”

Read the full article at Cape Cod Times

 

DELAWARE: Trump administration enters the Delmarva offshore wind debate

August 6, 2025 — The Trump administration’s opposition to offshore wind power is now taking aim at a controversial energy project off the Delmarva coast, potentially putting its future at risk.

Last week, the federal government revealed in court documents that it is reconsidering permits that the Biden administration had previously awarded to US Wind, a Baltimore-based company proposing to build an offshore wind farm within sight of beach communities in Maryland and Delaware.

The court documents are part of lawsuits filed by a local Delaware resident and Ocean City, Md., against the U.S. Department of Interior, challenging certain offshore construction approvals for the project.

“An extension in this case is necessary as Interior intends to reconsider its [Construction and Operations Plan] approval and move in the District of Maryland — the first-filed case — for voluntary remand of that agency action,” wrote Delaware U.S. Attorney Julianne Murray and Adam Gustafson, the acting assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.

The federal courts would have to sign off on a “voluntary remand,” which is a request to send a case back to an administrative agency for reassessment. If the permit approvals were to be reassessed by the Trump administration, it’s possible they could be denied, dooming the project.

Read the full article at Spotlight Delaware

VIRGINIA: Biggest US offshore wind project marches ahead despite Trump attacks

August 6, 2025 — The largest planned offshore wind project in the U.S. is 60 percent complete and is on track to begin delivering electricity early next year.

Officials with Dominion Energy, the utility that’s building the project named Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, said in an earnings call Friday that 134 foundations have been installed, along with all of the deepwater power cables. The project will have 176 foundations altogether. A newly built turbine installation vessel, the first American-flagged ship of its kind, is expected to arrive at the project site as early as this month, they said. It will be the vessel’s first project.

“This project remains consistent with the goal of securing American energy dominance and is part of our comprehensive, all-of-the-above strategy to affordably meet growing energy needs,” Dominion CEO Robert Blue told financial analysts on the call, echoing President Donald Trump’s energy priorities. “The project fabrication and installation are going very well, and CVOW continues to be one of the most affordable sources of energy for our customers.”

Read the full article at E&E News

Foundation challenges Vineyard Wind project, files petition

August 6, 2025 — The Texas Public Policy Foundation has filed an administrative petition challenging the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind energy project, claiming the livelihoods of the local fishermen they represent have been severely impacted by the project.

“The Biden Administration violated at least thirteen provisions of federal law when it approved the Vineyard 1 offshore wind project,” said TPPF senior attorney Ted Hadzi-Antich. “In the process, they tacitly agreed to the destruction of a prime fishing area that has been used by commercial fishermen to feed Americans for generations.”

Read the full article at Legal Newsline

NEW JERSEY: Cancel Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Projects, LBI Group Asks Trump Admin

August 6, 2025 — A local anti-offshore wind group is petitioning the Trump Administration to cancel the Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm projects.

Save LBI announced Tuesday that the group had formally petitioned the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to cancel the leases for the Atlantic Shores South and North offshore wind projects and rescind existing permit approvals.

“We are committed to permanently stopping the Atlantic Shores projects,” Save LBI wrote in the petition. The group called for an expedited lease cancellation.

Read the full article at the Patch