Saving Seafood

Right whales and offshore wind: reflections on an uneasy coexistence

September 26, 2024 — Michael Moore has spent decades studying North Atlantic right whales. He’s seen somewhere around 150 of them. It’s a feat, given that now there are just about 360 left in the world.

But the veterinarian, author, and scientist emeritus from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution had never seen an offshore wind farm up close — until last week.

“Look at them. All out in neat little rows,” he said, standing at the rear of a 53-foot charter boat that offered a closeup view of construction on Vineyard Wind, 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.

About half of the planned 62 turbines are fully constructed, reaching more than 250 meters into the sky. When the boat slowed down to pass beneath one of the turbines, Moore was awestruck by the length of a blade.

“Right whales are 40 to 50 feet,” he said. “So you can stretch seven right whales along the length of one of these blades.”

Read the full article at CAI

Nantucket Group Takes Challenge Of Vineyard Wind To U.S. Supreme Court

September 26, 2024 — Three years after the Nantucket-based group ACK For Whales first sued to stop the Vineyard Wind project, its legal challenge of the offshore wind project is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

After its arguments were rejected by lower courts, ACK For Whales on Monday formally petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case.

The petition asserts that the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals wrongly allowed the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to ignore the Endangered Species Act’s (ESA) requirement to use “the best available scientific and commercial data available” when it ruled in April against ACK For Whales’ challenge of Vineyard Wind.

“I have hope,” said Val Oliver, the founding director of the non-profit ACK For Whales, formerly known as Nantucket Residents Against Turbines. “In light of the recent Chevron decision, we think we have a really good chance. That was about government overreach and that is what this (Vineyard Wind) has felt like since the beginning: go, go, go, and we’ll figure it out as we go. That’s just not responsible.”

Read the full article at Nantucket Current

MASSACHUSETTS: NOAA report sends mixed message on wind power and risk to whales

September 26, 2024 — Federal agencies have reauthorized a controversial permit for Vineyard Wind’s final phase of construction, allowing the wind farm developer to continue pile driving with some impact on endangered whale species.

The permit allows Vineyard Wind to finish pile-driving the foundations for its wind turbines in proximity to whales. It does not declare that the industry will not harm whales. It calls it “extremely unlikely” that it will hurt any North Atlantic right whales. But it says a small number of whales of other species may experience temporary to permanent hearing impairment as a result of the noise from pile-driving.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light

There are too many unknowns about offshore wind

September 26, 2024 — Dale Witham of Bremen has been a commercial fisherman for more than 50 years.

The Green New Deal was developed and implemented to address climate change, as well as, create jobs, economic growth and reduce economic inequality. Thomas Friedman of The New York Times wrote in 2007, “If you have to put a windmill in your yard or some solar panels on your roof, bless your heart. But we will only green the world when we change the very nature of the electricity grid — moving it away from dirty coal or oil to clean coal and renewables.”

Maine’s offshore fishing grounds have provided for the people of this state for generations. In 2021, Maine’s commercial fishing value for all species was more than $890 million. The state’s population was 1.37 million people, equating to $649.18 in generated wealth for every resident.

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

MARYLAND: Debate Over Offshore Wind Farms Continues at Ocean City BOEM Meeting

September 26, 2024 — Ocean City residents voiced strong opposition Tuesday night at a public meeting hosted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regarding potential offshore wind farm developments along the Maryland coast. The meeting discussed areas that could be leased for wind energy projects, which has been raising concerns among residents.

The town of Ocean City encouraged residents to attend the meeting in opposition after BOEM recently approved plans for wind turbines 10.7 miles off the coast. The latest discussion centered on additional potential wind energy areas, though no specific projects are confirmed.

BOEM is seeking public feedback as Maryland aims to generate 8.5 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2031, a key part of the state’s clean energy goals.

BOEM presented a map showing a large stretch of ocean from New Jersey to North Carolina that could be considered for wind energy projects, with some areas as close as three miles off Ocean City’s coast. However, BOEM emphasized that only about 10% of the area would likely be leased for wind development.

Read the full article at WBOC

RHODE ISLAND: R.I. regulators resume review of SouthCoast Wind transmission lines

September 24, 2024 — A proposal to run underwater power lines from a Massachusetts offshore wind farm through Rhode Island waters is back before state regulators, following a 14-month pause.

The Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board voted unanimously Monday to resume consideration of SouthCoast Wind Energy LLC’s application to run transmission lines from its wind farm 30 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard up the Sakonnet River, over Portsmouth and out Mount Hope Bay to reach land in Somerset.

Read the full article at Rhode Island Current

New challenges to offshore wind

September 24, 2024 — Economic and supply-chain warning signs are flashing again in the international wind energy sector.

Turbine manufacturer GE Vernova said Sept 20 it will downsize its offshore efforts, after a reported $300 million third-quarter loss in its wind business overshadowed the marketing push of its top-line Haliade-X machine.

A Haliade-X turbine lost a blade to fracture on the Vineyard Wind project off Massachusetts in July, following two other blade failures on projects in Europe.

Read the full article at Workboat

OREGON: 2 kinds of ocean energy inch forward off the Oregon coast

September 24, 2024 — On a cloudy late August morning, Burke Hales was on a boat a mile off the central Oregon coast, pointing to a sandy beach along the forested shoreline. It was there, the Oregon State University oceanography professor said, that the subsea cables from the first large wave energy test site in the continental U.S. will connect to land — and ultimately the local power grid.

“This is the highest power — probably the most energetic — wave condition of any of the test sites out there,” he said, as the high swells known to pound the Oregon coast rocked the boat.

The coastal waters of Oregon are shaping up to be key for advances in two forms of renewable energy: wave power and wind turbines that float. The way electricity is traditionally made is a major cause of climate change, so clean alternatives are key to addressing it.

Read the full article at The Associated Press

BOEM begins planning second Atlantic offshore wind lease

September 23, 2024 — The federal agency that identifies offshore wind energy areas is in the early stages of siting another possible commercial lease sale for the East Coast.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held an open house last week at the Crystal Coast Civic Center in Morehead City, the first in the multiyear, multistep planning process for Central Atlantic 2. BOEM manages development of the U.S. outer continental shelf energy, mineral and geological resources.

BOEM Project Coordinator Seth Theuerkauf explained that the agency has just begun the work to identify lease areas in the Central Atlantic region.

“We’re at the call area stage, the first step of our process,” Theuerkauf said, adding that what’s really driving the effort is the remaining offshore wind energy needs for North Carolina and Maryland.

Officials on Aug. 22 published in the federal register the call area, which is 13 million acres off the coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina, and launched the 60-day public comment period that ends Oct. 21.

BOEM has scheduled open houses over the coming weeks in the other states plus a virtual meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 2. Register for the Zoom meeting online. This meeting will feature presentations and offer a chance to comment.

Read the full article at CoastalReview.org

Insight: Offshore wind opponents in Australia, Europe lean on US groups for advice

September 23, 2024 — Bill Thompson’s fight to stop offshore wind farms was once confined to the tiny U.S. state of Rhode Island where he lives. Today, he is part of a global movement.

In April, Thompson, who is director of the activist group Green Oceans, got an email from a fellow anti-offshore wind group more than 10,000 miles (16,000 km) away called Responsible Future (Illawarra Chapter). They were looking for advice on ways to combat projects off Australia’s southeast coast. In August, he got another request, this time from French group PIEBIEM fighting projects in Brittany.

Read the full article at Reuters