Saving Seafood

MARYLAND: “Not for sale” says Ocean City Mayor after multimillion dollar offer for fishing community by US Wind

May 20, 2025 —  As the prospect of offshore wind projects along the coast continues, the town of Ocean City and now the Waterman’s Association seem to be on the same page in declaring that they are “not for sale.” That’s the claim made in a statement this week by Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan.

The statement was a response to a $20 million dollar investment proposal that is aimed at supporting commercial fishing operations in Maryland.

The Memoranda of Understanding between US Wind and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources was designed to asswage concerns from the local fishing industry over plans for offshore wind. 

Read the full article at Coast TV

In Reversal, Trump Officials Will Allow Huge Offshore N.Y. Wind Farm to Proceed

May 20, 2025 — The Trump administration on Monday allowed construction to restart on a huge wind farm off the coast of Long Island, a month after federal officials had issued a highly unusual stop-work order that had pushed the $5 billion project to the brink of collapse.

In a statement, Gov. Kathy Hochul, Democrat of New York, said she had spent weeks pressing President Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to lift the government’s hold on the wind farm.

The project, known as Empire Wind, is being built by the Norwegian energy giant Equinor and when finished is expected to deliver enough electricity to power 500,000 New York homes.

“After countless conversations with Equinor and White House officials, bringing labor and business to the table to emphasize the importance of this project, I’m pleased that President Trump and Secretary Burgum have agreed to lift the stop work order and allow this project to move forward,” Ms. Hochul said on Monday evening.

When the Trump administration halted work on Empire Wind last month, it stunned observers and sent shock waves through the wind industry.

Read the full story at the New York Times

US Wind proposes $20 million for fisheries fund

May 19, 2025 — Offshore wind developer US Wind Inc. is proposing a $20 million fund “to support commercial fishing” under agreements with Maryland and Delaware state officials.

The memoranda of understanding reached with Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control were “developed in response to feedback from the local commercial fishing industry, (and) will provide funding to commercial fishermen above and beyond what is required by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,” according to a May 14 joint statement from the company and state agencies.

The fund would include $13.5 million for the “Maryland Fishing Community Resilience Fund,” aimed at maintaining the commercial fishing infrastructure at Ocean City, Md., where US Wind plans a base of operations. The company holds an 80,000-acre federal lease off the Delmarva coast with potential for developing turbine arrays with a nameplate rating up to 1,800 megawatts.

Read the full article at the WorkBoat

US Wind Offers $20 Million to Local Fishermen under New Proposal

May 15, 2025 — Offshore wind developer US Wind has entered memoranda of understanding with Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) in which the company has proposed $20 million in support to local fishermen.

According to a press release from US Wind, the agreements with the states were developed in response to watermen feedback as US Wind continues to pursue a project off Sussex and Worcester Counties. The Trump Administration’s reversal of a Biden-era push for offshore wind has left the future of the project uncertain.

“This proposal — one of the biggest investments in commercial fishing in the region – demonstrates our commitment to the fishing industry and the local community in which we’ll operate,” said Jeffrey Grybowski, US Wind CEO. “The funding will provide direct support to commercial and charter fishermen, grants for local businesses, and support for harbor maintenance and infrastructure. We’re looking forward to continuing our work with local fishermen and the states of Maryland and Delaware to finalize this unprecedented agreement.”

US Wind says $13.5 million of the $20 million proposal would go to the following in Maryland:

-Grants for fishing businesses in the harbor to continue the offloading of catch and ice services;

-30 years of funding for West Ocean City Harbor maintenance, such as dredging requested each year by the community, dock and shore stabilization

-Substantial money for gear development, marketing of local seafood, fishing business development, and incentives for new commercial fishermen.

Read the full article at WBOC

Equinor says it could cancel New York offshore wind project over Trump order

May 13, 2025 — The developer of a major U.S. offshore wind project warned that it will cancel the Empire Wind facility off the coast of New York if it cannot in the coming days reach a resolution over a month-old stop-work order issued by the Trump administration.

Molly Morris, president of the U.S. renewable energy arm of Norway’s Equinor, said the company was spending $50 million a week to keep the project afloat.

“The situation is now unsustainable,” Morris said in an interview.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered Equinor to halt construction on the project on April 17, saying information suggested the administration of former President Joe Biden may have approved it without a thorough environmental analysis.

Read the full article at Reuters

Trump administration strikes hard at offshore wind

May 12, 2025 — The U.S. offshore wind industry was rocked less than 100 days into the new Trump administration, with aggressive moves by the White House to shut down Equinor’s Empire Wind project off New York and ongoing political pressure on Trump officials to do even more.

“Approval for the project was rushed through by the prior administration without sufficient analysis or consultation among the relevant agencies as relates to the potential effects from the project,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wrote in an April 16 memo directing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to halt construction activity.

Citing President Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order calling for a broad review of all offshore wind power projects in federal waters, Burgum wrote that the construction halt will remain pending review to “address these serious deficiencies.”

Read the full article at Workboat

California and 17 other states sue Trump administration over wind energy projects

May 9, 2025 — California and 17 other state attorneys general have filed a lawsuit attempting to stop the Trump administration’s efforts to thwart the development of wind energy projects.

The complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts comes in response to a Jan. 20 executive order by President Donald Trump that issued a temporary withdrawal of all areas on the outer Continental Shelf from offshore wind leasing.

The directive also called for a review of leasing and permitting for all wind energy projects across the country, alleging they “may lead to grave harm” that includes “negative impacts on navigational safety interests, transportation interests, national security interests, commercial interests, and marine mammals.”

The 101-page lawsuit from states led by Democrats says the executive order is unlawful and creates “an existential threat to the wind industry.”

Read the full story at The Mercury News

Trump Faces Challenge to Offshore Wind Directive

May 8, 2025 — New Jersey is one of nearly two dozen states plus the District of Columbia to sue the federal government over President Donald J. Trump’s executive order halting approvals of wind energy development.

“It is deeply disappointing that the Trump administration is illegally attempting to block our state from developing new sources of power through their across-the-broad freeze on wind energy,” state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said.

With the stroke of his pen, Trump temporarily withdrew offshore wind leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf and implemented a review of the federal government’s leasing and permitting practices for wind energy on Jan. 20, the same day he declared a national energy emergency.

The order went into effect Jan. 21 and will remain in place unless it is repealed. The rights of existing leases in the withdrawn areas are not impacted by the withdrawal, under the memorandum.

Read the full story at The SandPaper

Supreme Court declines to hear challenges to Vineyard Wind

May 7, 2025 — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear two cases challenging the federal approval of Vineyard Wind. The court denied the petitions Monday.

Commercial fishing interests sued the federal agencies involved in approving the wind farm, which is under construction 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

The lawsuits were originally filed in 2021 and 2022.

Read the full story at Maine Public

Tariffs could add $500M to cost of Virginia Beach offshore wind farm, Dominion tells investors

May 7, 2025 — Dominion Energy expects to pay more to complete the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project because of the Trump administration’s new taxes on imported goods including monopile foundations and turbine towers.

The $10.8 billion offshore wind farm about 30 miles off the Virginia Beach coast will be the nation’s largest, consisting of 176 turbines that generate about 2.6 gigawatts of electricity, or enough to power up to 660,000 homes.

Dominion CEO Bob Blue told investors last week that if current tariffs continue through construction of the project late next year, the utility would expect about $500 million in added costs.

“Of course, changes to future tariff policy could affect these estimates,” he said. “It’s difficult to fully assess the impact tariffs may have to the project’s final cost, as actual costs incurred are dependent upon the tariff requirements and rates, if any, at the time of delivery of the specific component.”

Read the full story at the Virginia Mercury