Saving Seafood

Port of New Bedford cites ‘grave concern’ about new offshore wind area

October 25, 2024 — The city’s Port Authority published a letter to offshore wind regulators Wednesday, raising “grave concerns” over a 13.4 million acre tract of ocean recently opened to wind farm developers in the Central Atlantic that could put up to $2 billion in commercial fishing revenue at risk.

“BOEM has painted with too broad a brush,” New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell wrote in the letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). “We believe that the new Mid-Atlantic call areas must be cut back from existing scallop and other fishery access areas, which still would leave ample room for nearby states to achieve their offshore wind capacity goals.”

In August, BOEM began soliciting proposals for offshore wind developers to lease 13.4 million acres of ocean off New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. It is the second of such sales in the Central Atlantic and the fifth offshore wind lease sale held during the Biden-Harris administration. The first lease sale in the Central Atlantic was completed also in August, yielding nearly $93 million from developers Equinor Wind US and Virginia Electric and Power Company.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light

More Vineyard Wind blades coming down

October 25, 2024 — Vineyard Wind officials announced Wednesday that an unspecified number of turbine blades will be removed from its lease area 15 miles south of the Island, raising further questions about the integrity of the blades.

GE Vernova, the contractors charged with the construction of the Vineyard Wind farm — through a press release and during a call with investors Wednesday — did not specify how many blades have been or will be removed, although they said that less-than ten were impacted.

“There was a manufacturing deviation at one of our factories in Canada,” GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik said during a quarterly call with investors on Wednesday. “We have been very systematically reviewing all of our blades in offshore wind and we can say today that a very small proportion, low single-digit proportion of our manufactured blades in totality also had a manufacturing deviation similar to the blade that we experienced the failure in Vineyard Wind.”

The latest press announcement follows recent reporting from the New Bedford Light that four blades were quietly shipped from New Bedford to a manufacturing plant in France.

Read the full article at MV Times

Scallop, menhaden fishermen call to cut back Mid-Atlantic wind areas

October 25, 2024 — A recent proposal to outline new wind energy areas off the Mid-Atlantic coast could threaten some of the most important East Coast sea scallop fishing grounds, New Bedford, Mass. officials warned the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

“As the port where the fishing and offshore wind industry intersect more than anywhere else, New Bedford is committed to the successful coexistence of both industries,” New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell said, in an Oct 23 statement with the New Bedford Port Authority. “We believe that the new Mid-Atlantic call areas must be cut back from existing scallop and other fishery access areas, which still would leave ample room for nearby states to achieve their offshore wind capacity goals.”

The next day Virginia-based menhaden fishermen also called for BOEM to alter its plans and provide significant setbacks from wind power development areas and fishing grounds.

Read the full article at WorkBoat

Preservation Society of Newport County asks judge to stop offshore wind project

October 25, 2024 — The Preservation Society of Newport County is asking a judge to halt work on a controversial wind farm located 15 miles offshore.

The Preservation Society, which owns the famed Newport Mansions, sued the federal government last year after the Revolution Wind project was approved.

Their complaint names the U.S. Department of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) as defendants.

In a new court filing, the Preservation Society asked a judge to rule in their favor before the case heads to trial. They claim BOEM broke the law by not considering the consequences the turbines would have on the Newport Mansions and other historic landmarks.

Read the full article at WPRI

More Vineyard Wind blades must be removed, repaired

October 24, 2024 — The Vineyard Wind project must remove an unknown number of blades that have already been installed south of Martha’s Vineyard while it repairs others, the company announced Wednesday. The project also received permission from the federal government this week to resume blade installation after it removes and repairs the components in the coming weeks.

The latest announcement suggests investigations found more defective blades similar to the blade that failed in July, and comes after the project quietly delivered at least four turbine blades from New Bedford to Cherbourg, France, where GE Vernova operates a blade manufacturing plant.

Both companies had not responded to questions as to why blades were being shipped to Europe from the U.S., but on Wednesday, a GE spokesperson told The Light the repair work will occur “in the water/at the turbine, in other cases at the [marshaling] harbor and our factory in Cherbourg, France.”

The companies said they would be “strengthening” the blades “as needed to support the safety and operational readiness of this project,” but it is unclear what is meant by “strengthening” — whether it means applying more adhesive or fiberglass — or where in the blade the repair work will occur.

During an earnings call with investors Wednesday morning, GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik said the last few months for offshore wind have been “difficult for us.”

“We can say today that a very small proportion, low single-digit proportion of our manufactured blades in totality also had a manufacturing deviation similar to the blade” that failed at the Vineyard Wind site, Strazik said. “In those cases, we are taking action on those blades.”

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

Vineyard Wind is given the OK to move forward after blade failure in July

October 24, 2024 — After months of delay, Vineyard Wind has announced it was given the OK to remove a damaged blade and complete its wind turbine project 15 miles south of Nantucket.

In July, a GE Genova-manufactured wind turbine blade broke off, falling into the ocean and littering nearby beaches with floating debris and sharp fiberglass, which angered residents.

The failure occurred at Vineyard Wind’s offshore wind farm, which began delivering energy from five of its planned 63 wind turbines in February.

Read the full article at Boston.com

Ocean Harvesters and Omega Protein Call for 15-Mile Buffer Zone from Offshore Wind on Central Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf

October 24, 2024 — The following was released by Omega Protein and Ocean Harvesters:

Ocean Harvesters, owner and operator of nine menhaden purse seine vessels, and Omega Protein, which develops healthy products from menhaden, have called for a 15-mile buffer from offshore wind development on the Central Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. Responding to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently proposed Central Atlantic 2 Call Area (Docket No. BOEM-2024-0040), the two Reedville, Virginia-based companies wrote that their operations are incompatible with wind turbine arrays, and that critical adjustments are needed to protect the menhaden fishing industry.

Ocean Harvesters vessels harvest Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay and in Atlantic Ocean waters from the mouth of the Bay to northern New Jersey, providing these catches exclusively to Omega Protein. This fishery, active in the communities of Virginia’s Northern Neck for over 140 years, supports the production of essential products for aquaculture, agriculture, and human nutrition.

On average, nearly 70 percent of Ocean Harvesters’ catch occurs in federal waters, with approximately 93,000 metric tons of menhaden harvested annually in the Exclusive Economic Zone between the Virginia-North Carolina border and Long Island. These operations rely on aerial spotter planes and a complex netting process to harvest menhaden, a method that is incompatible with wind turbine arrays. The range of the nets, the need for spotter planes to fly at low altitudes, and the drift of vessels during harvesting make it essential that a buffer zone be established around wind energy sites.

The companies recommend that BOEM move the boundary of Central Atlantic 2 Call Area seaward from the current six miles to 15 miles to prevent conflicts. Such a change would not only reduce conflicts with the menhaden fishery, but with many other small and large-scale commercial fisheries as well.

Maintaining an appropriate buffer zone is particularly crucial off the coast of Virginia because waters around the Chesapeake Bay are where conflicts with the menhaden fishery would be most acute. Additionally, the confluence of shipping lanes, military operations, and recreational traffic makes this a congested area in the ocean, of importance to numerous existing ocean users.

Ocean Harvesters and Omega Protein remain committed to working collaboratively with BOEM to find a solution that balances offshore renewable energy development with the preservation of vital commercial fisheries.

About Omega Protein
Omega Protein Corporation is a century old nutritional product company that develops, produces, and delivers healthy products derived from menhaden, a fish found abundantly off the U.S. Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. Omega Protein Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary and division of Cooke Inc., a family-owned company based in New Brunswick, Canada.

Through its subsidiaries, Omega Protein owns three menhaden manufacturing facilities in the United States. Omega Protein also has a long-term supply contract with Ocean Harvesters, which owns 30 fishing vessels which harvest menhaden. All fishing vessels owned and operated by Ocean Harvesters, an independent company, were formerly owned by Omega Protein. Any references to commercial fishing of menhaden relate to Ocean Harvesters, not Omega Protein or Cooke Inc.

VIRGINIA: Dominion Energy Receives $2.6B as Stonepeak Acquires Share of Wind Farm

October 24, 2024 — Dominion Energy Receives $2.6B as Stonepeak Acquires Half of Offshore Wind Farm

Dominion Energy completed the previously announced deal to sell a 50 percent interest in its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project to Stonepeak, a leading alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real estate. The transaction continues the trend of investment firms entering the offshore wind sector while for Dominion Energy it reduces risk and is part of a broader effort to lower corporate debt. The company has said it does not signal a change in its support of offshore wind energy power generation.

“We are pleased to partner with Stonepeak on CVOW,” said Robert Blue, Chair and CEO of Dominion Energy. “Stonepeak is one of the world’s largest infrastructure investors in large energy projects such as offshore wind, and its financial participation in CVOW will benefit both the project and the people who will rely on electricity from CVOW to keep the lights on and fuel economic growth in the Commonwealth.”

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

New Bedford Port Authority Expresses “Grave Concerns” Over BOEM’s Proposed Central Atlantic Offshore Wind Development Area

October 23, 2024 — The following was released by the Port of New Bedford:

The New Bedford Port Authority (NBPA) has submitted a formal response to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regarding the recently proposed Central Atlantic 2 Call Area (Docket No. BOEM-2024-0040), raising significant concerns about its potential impact on the commercial fishing industry. As the nation’s most profitable fishing port and home to the first large-scale offshore wind marshaling port, New Bedford is deeply invested in both renewable energy development and the preservation of vital fishing grounds.

“BOEM has painted with too broad a brush. As the port where the fishing and offshore wind industry intersect more than anywhere else, New Bedford is committed to the successful coexistence of both industries. We believe that the new Mid-Atlantic call areas must be cut back from existing scallop and other fishery access areas, which still would leave ample room for nearby states to achieve their offshore wind capacity goals,” said New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell.

While the NBPA supports offshore wind development, it emphasized the importance of balancing this growth with the protection of established industries. In particular, the letter calls attention to the critical scallop fishing areas-Elephant Trunk, Hudson Canyon, and Delmarva-that fall within the boundaries of the proposed Central Atlantic 2 Call Area. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) estimated the 16-year catch value for the most impacted commercial fisheries in the area of the proposed call is just under $2 billion, with just under $1.5 billion of that amount coming from sea scallops.

“Our grave concern about this CA2 call area is that it unnecessarily includes some of the most critically important scallop fishing areas on the East Coast,” wrote Gordon Carr, NBPA Executive Director. “What is stunning to us is that all that data is and was available to BOEM prior to setting the boundaries of the proposed call area.”

Mr. Carr noted that the call area “could have been set approximately 150 miles to the south, avoiding these critical scallop grounds, while still leaving more than 400 miles and millions of acres of call area down to the South Carolina state line.”

The Port of New Bedford has long been involved in offshore wind planning, providing comments on multiple projects in the region. The NBPA emphasized that “development must only be accomplished in a responsible manner by protecting established industries that share our waters. In particular, ‘responsible manner’ must include learning from mistakes made in failing to avoid and address the interaction and conflicts between offshore wind and commercial fishing in connection with previous BOEM actions.”

“It is long past time for BOEM to take seriously its responsibility towards the other users of the Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”), some of which, like commercial fishing, have been using the same areas for hundreds of years. BOEM must begin to demonstrate a concerted effort to avoid and minimize the potential impact of a call area, collective lease areas, WEA, and each turbine,” Mr. Carr wrote. “This effort must take place before the potential impact is felt and must be based on more substantive scientific data and information than a hunch. People’s livelihoods are based on these actions.”

The New Bedford Port Authority calls on BOEM to take the concerns of the commercial fishing industry seriously and work toward a more responsible and consistent approach to offshore wind development, one that properly balances the needs of renewable energy with the long-standing commercial fishing industry. BOEM now has the opportunity to scale back the proposed Central Atlantic 2 Call Area to avoid and minimize the effects this area will have on most notably sea scallop, surfclam, and ocean quahog sustainability.

About the New Bedford Port Authority
The New Bedford Port Authority is a state-created agency charged with managing the Port of New Bedford. The Port is the physical center and primary economic engine of Southeastern Massachusetts. It is America’s top commercial fishing port, the staging site for America’s first industrial-scale offshore wind project, and home to hundreds of recreational and commercial vessels and businesses.

For media inquiries, please contact:
John Regan
Director of Policy & External Affairs
John.regan@newbedford-ma.gov
(508) 961-3000

NEW YORK: RWE and National Grid Propose New York’s Largest Offshore Wind Project

October 23, 2024 – German utility RWE and New York power company National Grid have announced a proposal to build a 2.8 GW wind park off Long Island, the largest offshore wind power plan yet submitted to New York state energy regulator NYSERDA. It is the second time that it has submitted its Community Offshore Wind project for NYSERDA’s approval: the previous bid was awarded, then canceled when the economic viability of first-generation U.S. offshore wind projects soured.

RWE and National Grid won a lease area in the New York Bight at auction in 2022, one of several awarded that year. The site has the potential for up to 3 GW of nameplate capacity, about a third of New York’s 2030 target of 9 GW.

The developers pitched a 1.3 GW phase 1 project to NYSERDA under the name of “Community Offshore Wind,” and in October 2023, they won a provisional offtake award greenlighting the project. The subsea power cable from the farm would land in Brooklyn, and Community Offshore Wind put heavy emphasis on a community benefits package totaling more than $500 million in wages and benefits for Brooklyn’s disadvantaged communities.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive