Saving Seafood

Geophysical survey underway at Virginia offshore wind site

April 28, 2020 — A pair of offshore service vessels from the Gulf of Mexico are at work off Virginia, conducting geophysical studies on a 112,800-acre federal lease where Dominion Energy and offshore wind developer Ørsted plan to build a 2,600-megawatt turbine array beginning in 2024.

Geospatial surveyors TerraSond contracted with Houma, La.-based Bordelon Marine to use the Sarah Bordelon and the Marcelle Bordelon, both 170’x36’x10’, 440.9 dwt, to start the work in mid-April in the lease area, 27 miles east of Virginia Beach.

“These surveys will provide the company with the geological, biological, and oceanographic data needed to support planning and construction in a manner that facilitates coexistence between the natural marine ecosystem and clean energy development,” Dominion Energy said in a statement issued April 27. “Ultimately, this data will support preparation of the project’s Construction and Operations Plan to be submitted to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) later this year.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Coronavirus halts nation’s largest purchase of offshore wind

April 27, 2020 — The state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) authorised the New York Energy Research and Development Authority (Nyserda) to issue a new offshore wind solicitation for at least 1GW and up to 2.5GW.

The energy regulator has planned to issue the tender – which would be the US’ largest offshore wind auction to date – this summer, according to a petition filed with the PSC.

However, Nyserda has suspended its plans to hold the auction round indefinitely as government agencies prioritise New York’s response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

New York has recorded the highest number of cases and casualties in the US, according to statistics company Worldometer.

Read the full story at Wind Power Monthly

Offshore wind turbines headed to Virginia; New Jersey launches ‘WIND Institute’

April 24, 2020 — Components for the first two offshore wind energy turbines to be installed in U.S. federal waters departed from Denmark, bound for Nova Scotia and ultimately installation off Virginia, project backers said April 21.

The pair of 6-megawatt Siemens Gamesa will be assembled by Dominion Energy and wind developer Ørsted for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW), a pilot project 27 miles offshore for what is planned to become a much larger array on a federal lease east of Virginia Beach.

The foundations, consisting of the turbines’ monopiles, transition pieces and anode cages fabricated by metals manufacturer EEW SPC, were loaded at Rostock, Germany onto the Bigroll Beaufort, a 568-foot Netherlands-flagged flat deck cargo ship. Turbine components were loaded at Esbjerg, Denmark, before the vessel embarked in mid-April. Arrival is expected around April 25 in Halifax, according to commercial vessel tracking services.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NEW JERSEY: Wind Council Releases Report on Plan for NJ WIND Institute

April 23, 2020 — Gov. Phil Murphy’s Wind Council today released a report detailing plans for creating the Wind Innovation and New Development (WIND) Institute. The WIND Institute will serve as a center for education, research, innovation, and workforce training related to the development of offshore wind in New Jersey and the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region.

In August 2019, Governor Murphy signed Executive Order No. 79, establishing a Council for the Wind Innovation and New Development Institute, charged with developing and implementing a plan to create a regional hub for New Jersey’s burgeoning offshore wind industry and build upon the Murphy Administration’s commitment to making New Jersey a national leader in offshore wind. The Council includes representatives from the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the Board of Public Utilities, the Department of Education, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

“Offshore wind is coming to the United States and bringing billions of investment dollars and thousands of jobs along with it,” said Governor Murphy. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to not only grow New Jersey’s economy, but also move rapidly toward a clean energy future that puts us on a path to 100 percent clean energy by 2050. The report released today outlines our plans for establishing a WIND Institute that will facilitate workforce development, research, and innovation in New Jersey’s offshore wind industry, ensuring that we take full advantage of this opportunity to grow our economy and create new opportunities for New Jersey workers while protecting our environment.”

To inform its recommendations, the Wind Council assessed the state of the offshore wind industry in New Jersey, conducted a gap analysis of workforce assets in the state, and facilitated discussions with a range of stakeholder groups, including offshore wind industry members, organized labor, four-year colleges and universities, community colleges, vocational technical schools and comprehensive high schools, and fisheries.

Read the full story at New Jersey Business

Wind Team Fishery Biologist Embraces Opportunities for Innovation, Collaboration

April 22, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Lisa Methratta is the fishery biologist for the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s offshore wind team. She brings academic training and professional experience in ecological research to bear on the study of offshore wind interactions with fish and fisheries.

“I am interested in designing new approaches for studying the ecological effects of offshore wind in marine ecosystems,” says Methratta, who previously worked for NOAA Fisheries as the national aquaculture liaison in the Office of Protected Resources. One of her tasks there was to lead an agency-wide working group examining the risks to protected species posed by offshore aquaculture.

“Wind power and aquaculture will each interact with the marine ecosystem in unique ways, many of which we are still learning about,” Methratta says. “Innovative, scientifically rigorous research will enrich our understanding of these interactions and support a healthy ecosystem with sustainable fisheries and industrial development in the offshore zone.”

Read the full release here

BOEM considers virtual public comment on Vineyard Wind study

April 22, 2020 — A wider federal study of the Vineyard Wind project and cumulative impacts of offshore wind development off the East Coast is holding to schedule despite the coronavirus crisis, with a decision expected by December, a top federal official said Tuesday.

With their offices closed, federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management reviewers are working remotely to compile findings toward a final environmental impact statement for the 804-megawatt Vineyard Wind project off southern New England, said James Bennett, chief of BOEM’s renewable energy program.

But public health measures to combat the spread of coronavirus have derailed the agency’s plans for gathering stakeholder comment, including public hearings starting in June, Bennett said during IPF20 Virtual, an online conference hosted this week by the Business Network for Offshore Wind.

“We’re in the process now of planning some kind of virtual event” that would similarly inform the public of what BOEM has been finding, and gather in additional information and comments, Bennett told news reporters during a media availability Tuesday morning.

The public comment process required by the National Environmental Policy Act is another avenue that is bringing formal and written commentary into the review as well, he said.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Fishermen seek delay in Gulf of Maine offshore wind planning

April 16, 2020 — Gulf of Maine fishermen this week asked three New England governors and federal officials for a six-month delay in planning for offshore wind energy development in those waters, as the seafood industry grapples with the upheaval of coronavirus.

In deeper waters of the gulf, wind power will be achieved only with the use of floating turbines. The extensive anchoring and cabling that would be required means “lease areas will become de facto closures to fishing,” the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance wrote in an April 14 letter the governors of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

“Technology is evolving to minimize the footprint of the base of an offshore wind platform, but current proposed technologies still have mooring lines and flexible cabling that will make any type of fishing – fixed or mobile gear – incredibly unlikely within a wind energy area.” According to the alliance, a coalition of fishermen, coastal communities and related businesses.

Meanwhile, “the fishing industry has been hit especially hard by the pandemic, forcing the commercial fishing sector to divert time and effort to addressing the current crisis, and leaving insufficient opportunities for engagement in offshore wind siting and other planning,” the alliance said in a news release accompanying the letter. “A six-month pause would not only demonstrate good faith to the fishing industry, but also allow for additional research on offshore wind’s impact on marine ecosystems and better data sharing that will benefit offshore development moving forward.”

Read the full story at WorkBoat

Fishing Industry Group Seeks Pause On Offshore Wind Planning During Pandemic

April 16, 2020 — A fishing industry group wants New Hampshire and neighboring states to put off planning offshore wind development during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, or RODA, sent a letter to the governors of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts on Tuesday. The group represents the fishing industry in states with offshore wind development.

Among RODA’s requests is a six-month halt on the federal planning process for putting wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine. Their letter raises concerns that efforts to fight COVID-19 will limit the public’s ability to weigh in on the process – especially for fishermen.

“The fishing industry has been hit especially hard by the pandemic,” RODA says in a statement, “forcing the commercial fishing sector to divert time and effort to addressing the current crisis, and leaving insufficient opportunities for engagement in offshore wind siting and other planning.”

Read the full story at New Hampshire Public Radio

Bringing fishing and wind communities together to site U.S. offshore wind projects

April 15, 2020 —  

  

Issues like these are ones where fishermen’s knowledge of the seas they have worked on their whole lives – and previous generations worked on before them – can be invaluable, both for maintaining their livelihoods as offshore wind farms are constructed in or around fishing grounds, and for helping developers make the best decisions for their wind businesses.

Read the full story from the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance at Windpower Engineering & Development

RODA request pause in offshore wind development amid COVID-19 pandemic

April 15, 2020 — The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance – a lobbying group formed in January 2018 to represent the East Coast fishing industry in discussions over offshore wind energy development – has called for all a six-month pause in the regulatory process pertaining to offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The call for a delay came via a letter sent to governors of New England states, including Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, Janet Mills of Maine, and Chris Sununu of New Hampshire. The letter was also sent to Walter Cruickshank, the acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The letter sites the importance of public participation in regulatory decisions, which is hampered by measures many states are taking to prevent transmission of COVID-19.

Read the full story at Seafood Source