Saving Seafood

RODA’s Statement in Response to Executive Order on Temporary Withdrawal of Offshore Wind Leasing and Permitting

January 21, 2025 — The following was released by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance:

Today, we extend gratitude to President Trump for his decision to temporarily withdraw all areas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from consideration for new or renewed wind energy leasing. This important move recognizes the vital role our communities, industries, and ecosystems play in the broader national interest. The decision is a much-needed pause that allows us to reassess the future of offshore wind development and its potential impacts on our coastal environments and local economies.

We are excited to collaborate with the new administration as they embark on the upcoming review of federal leasing and permitting practices for offshore wind projects. This is an opportunity to ensure that all voices—especially those of the fishing industry, local businesses, and environmental stakeholders—are heard as we move forward. RODA, and our members, stand willing and committed to work with government leaders as they undertake this critical review.

A particular cause for celebration today is the reprieve granted to regions that have yet to be subject to offshore wind leases. This gives these areas crucial time to engage in meaningful dialogue about the future of offshore wind and its compatibility with local priorities and concerns.

Additionally, we applaud the decision to halt the authorization of any further activities that could lead to navigational safety, transportation, national security, commercial and marine mammal protection interests until we fully understand the potential risks associated with offshore wind projects. Protecting marine life, particularly vulnerable species like whales, must remain a top priority as we explore renewable energy solutions.

RODA is committed to working collaboratively with the Trump Administration to ensure that any future offshore wind development is done in a manner that protects both the environment and the communities who call these coastal areas home.

Biden Administration approves SouthCoast Wind construction plan

January 21, 2025 — On the last business day of the Biden administration, a federal agency announced its approval of the construction and operations plan for SouthCoast Wind, a big offshore wind project that Massachusetts is counting on.

“We are proud to announce BOEM’s final approval of the SouthCoast Wind project, the nation’s eleventh commercial-scale offshore wind energy project, which will power more than 840,000 homes,” U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Elizabeth Klein said in a Friday statement.

“We are proud to announce BOEM’s final approval of the SouthCoast Wind project, the nation’s eleventh commercial-scale offshore wind energy project, which will power more than 840,000 homes,” U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Elizabeth Klein said in a Friday statement.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light

MASSACHUSETTS: Dozens protest wind farms and impact on whales in New Bedford

January 21, 2025 — Dozens of protesters gathered in New Bedford Saturday, demanding an end to offshore wind projects immediately.

The protest came one day after final federal approval for the Southcoast Wind Project, 26 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.

Protesters said they were outraged over potential impacts on the environment, coastal neighborhoods, and the commercial fishing industry.

Read the full article at WJAR

Trump bars offshore wind leases in opening salvo against his energy nemesis

January 21, 2025 — President Donald Trump ordered a halt to new leases and permits for wind projects on his first day back at the White House.

The order stops short of freezing construction of offshore projects along the East Coast, as sought by wind opponents and feared by the industry’s supporters. But it does direct the Interior secretary to review existing wind permits.

The moves amounted to an extraordinary attack on America’s largest renewable energy industry, both on land and at sea.

Read the full article at E&E News

Feds lift Vineyard Wind suspension order; dozens of faulty blades to be removed

January 21, 2025 — Vineyard Wind’s suspension on installing the rest of its wind farm southwest of Nantucket was lifted by the federal government Friday.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement lifted the suspension after agreeing to an addendum of Vineyard Wind’s construction and operations plan Friday, originally submitted last month, “based on revisions Vineyard Wind made to its construction and operations plan,” a BSEE spokesperson said Sunday.

Read the full article at Mass Live

President Trump Orders Temporary Withdrawal of Offshore Areas from Wind Leasing

January 20, 2025 (Saving Seafood) — WASHINGTON — In an order signed in the Oval Office this evening, President Donald J. Trump issued a memorandum to the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency directing the temporary withdrawal of all areas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from wind energy leasing and calling for a comprehensive review of federal wind leasing and permitting practices.

The memorandum, “Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects”, is effective tomorrow, January 21, 2025, and includes the following directives:

  1. Temporary Withdrawal of Areas
    All areas of the OCS are withdrawn from wind energy leasing under the authority of Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. This withdrawal applies to new or renewed wind energy leases and remains in effect until the memorandum is revoked. Existing leases are not immediately affected but will be reviewed for potential amendment or termination.
  2. Review of Federal Leasing and Permitting Practices
    Federal agencies are directed to halt the issuance of new or renewed approvals, permits, leases, loans, or rights-of-way for wind projects. A comprehensive review will be conducted to assess the environmental, economic, and legal impacts of wind energy projects, including effects on wildlife, electricity generation costs, and subsidies.
  3. Moratorium on Lava Ridge Wind Project Activities
    The Secretary of the Interior is instructed to impose a temporary moratorium on all activities related to the Lava Ridge Wind Project. The memorandum highlights alleged legal deficiencies in the Record of Decision issued by the Bureau of Land Management in December 2024 and calls for a new analysis of the project’s impacts.
  4. Assessment of Defunct Windmills
    Agencies are tasked with evaluating the environmental and economic effects of defunct or idle windmills and recommending measures for their removal.
  5. Litigation Considerations
    The Attorney General is authorized to notify courts of the memorandum and request stays or delays in litigation related to federal wind leasing and permitting, as necessary.

The memorandum will be published in the Federal Register.

NEW JERSEY: South Jersey congressman working with Trump to halt offshore wind

January 17, 2025 — New Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew, a Republican from Cape May County, said he’s working with President-elect Donald Trump on an executive order that “would halt offshore wind on the East Coast.”

“These offshore wind projects should have never been approved in the first place,” Van Drew said in a statement, referring to President Joe Biden’s effort to expand renewable energy as a “reckless green agenda that put politics over people.”

He says the executive order is just the first step in reversing course on the state’s offshore wind development.

“We will fight tooth and nail to prevent this offshore wind catastrophe from wreaking havoc on the hardworking people who call our coastal towns home,” Van Drew said.

Read the full article at whyy

MASSACHUSETTS: Can a $10M wind-energy center in New Bedford withstand opposition from locals and Trump?

January 17, 2025 — A state agency will continue efforts to develop a more than $10 million offshore-wind-based, ocean-energy innovation center in New Bedford in 2025, despite national opposition to offshore wind and local opposition to a proposed site.

Nationally, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to halt offshore wind development.

Locally, an attorney has compiled 236 signatures in opposition to the center’s “preferred” site, a 17,000-square-foot parking lot abutting the Bourne Counting House off McArthur Drive on Homer’s Wharf, leased through the Port Authority. The center would include the Bourne Counting House building, which would be renovated.

Read the full article at The Herald News

Trump tasks congressman with writing executive order he could issue to halt offshore wind

January 17, 2025 — President-elect Donald Trump tasked a New Jersey congressman and vocal critic of offshore wind with writing an executive order he could issue to halt wind energy projects.

Offshore wind is a major part of transitioning to an electric grid powered entirely by sources that don’t emit carbon dioxide when generating electricity. The power sector is responsible for nearly a third of the nation’s planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to end the offshore wind industry as soon as he returned to the White House. He wants to boost production of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal, which cause climate change, in order for the U.S. to have the lowest-cost energy and electricity of any nation in the world, he says.

Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew said he spoke with Trump by phone about a month ago and urged him to act on his campaign promise.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

NEW JERSEY: Trump on Track to Halt Wind Farms Approved Off LBI

January 16, 2025 — A local grassroots organization is continuing its battle in the courtroom to have offshore wind farms off Long Beach Island and Brigantine scrapped in perpetuity without a chance of being revived in the future, even as President-elect Donald J. Trump prepares to deliver on his campaign promise to permanently stop offshore wind energy projects off the East Coast under his administration.

A presidential executive order halting wind turbine activity off the East Coast is expected to be finalized in the first few months of his second presidency.

“These offshore wind projects should never have been approved in the first place,” Congressman Jeff Van Drew said Jan. 13, adding he has been working closely with Trump to draft the order, which also lays the groundwork for permanent measures against the projects.

Whether the permanent measures are related to national security is unknown, but in November, Sweden, a country viewed as wind turbine friendly, rejected certain offshore wind projects in the Baltic Sea due to concerns over radar interference and national security.

What is known is that in the days almost immediately following Sweden’s action, elevated drone sightings over New Jersey and other East Coast states began. Those reports reached a frenzy last month as federal agencies punted on what New Jersey residents were seeing and where the so-called drone incursions originated. (See related story in this edition.)

“That’s one of the issues connected to this (Atlantic Shores) project because we have military radars in Gibbsboro, N.J.,” Bob Stern, president of Save LBI, said at the time, explaining radar is used to protect against unwanted activities in the ocean and would be impacted by offshore wind turbines.

“There have been rumblings from our Department of Defense about this project and other projects. We’ve not been able to really get a lot of information about that, maybe because some of it is classified. But I’m pretty sure our defense department has had some issues with this (radar interference) as well,” Stern said.

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind did not respond to a request for comment as of The SandPaper deadline.

Meanwhile, Van Drew said earlier this week the outgoing administration rammed offshore wind projects through an approval process that lacked proper oversight, transparent lease agreements and a full understanding of the consequences.

“They are an economic and environmental disaster waiting to happen,” Van Drew said. “President Trump is committed to stopping these harmful projects and is taking decisive action. This executive order is just the beginning. We will fight tooth and nail to prevent this offshore wind catastrophe from wreaking havoc on the hardworking people who call our coastal towns home.”

Paulina O’Connor, executive director of the New Jersey Offshore Wind Alliance, disagrees.

“It is well documented that all proposed offshore wind projects go through rigorous reviews at all levels of government and there are extensive processes in place to provide members of the public the opportunity to participate in hearings and provide comments on all proposed projects. Recent comments and actions suggesting otherwise are misleading,” O’Connor said when reached the evening of Jan. 13. “Offshore wind remains New Jersey’s best solution to achieve energy independence.”

Read the full article at The Sand Paper