Saving Seafood

Biden administration races to shell out billions for clean energy as election nears

October 21, 2024 — The Biden administration is shelling out billions of dollars for clean energy and approving major offshore wind projects as officials race to secure major climate initiatives before President Joe Biden’s term comes to an end.

Biden wants to establish a legacy for climate action that includes locking in a trajectory for reducing the nation’s planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Former President Donald Trump has pledged to rescind unspent funds in Biden’s landmark climate and health care bill and stop offshore wind development if he returns to the White House in January.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told The Associated Press on Friday it would be “political malpractice” to undo clean energy incentives that are benefiting all pockets of America, with most of the investments going to counties with below-average weekly wages and college graduation rates.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Feds Requiring Vineyard Wind To Complete New Study On “Environmental Harm” From Blade Failure

October 17, 2024 — The federal agency that suspended the Vineyard Wind project following the July 13 blade failure is now requiring the company to complete a new study evaluating the “environmental harm” caused by the incident in the waters southwest of Nantucket, according to a document obtained by Nantucket Current.

In a Sept. 27 letter from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) addressed to Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Moeller, the agency ordered the offshore wind energy company to “conduct a site-specific study that evaluates the environmental harm and other potential damage flowing from” the blade failure, and to identify potential mitigation measures for that damage.

The order was obtained by Nantucket Current through a Freedom of Information Act request to the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The Vineyard Wind project remains under a suspension order from BSEE following the disastrous turbine blade failure on July 13 that left Nantucket’s beaches littered with foam and fiberglass debris. That order was modified in August to allow Vineyard Wind to continue installing turbine towers and nacelles, but it is forbidden from producing power or installing blades.

According to the BSEE order signed Kathryn Kovacs, the deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management at the U.S. Department of the Interior who is exercising the delegated authorities of the BSEE Director, Vineyard Wind was required to submit a plan for the study on Oct. 11, but was eligible to appeal the order. It’s not yet clear if the company appealed the order or not.

Both Vineyard Wind and BSEE officials did not immediately return requests for comment on Wednesday.

The required study “should characterize the subsea debris field resulting from the blade failure and the potential impacts or damage to onshore, coastal, and offshore resources from the blade debris.”

Read the full article at the Nantucket Current

MASSACHUSETTS: Crews Attempt to Retrieve Sunken Turbine Blade

October 17, 2024 — A recovery effort commenced this weekend to collect the pieces of a broken Vineyard Wind turbine that snapped off and sunk to the ocean floor this summer.

GE Vernova, the manufacturer of the blade that doubled over in July and poured down into the sea, had vessels at the malfunctioning turbine Sunday with the goal of retrieving the large pieces of the 305-foot blade, according to the town of Nantucket.

The town, which has been providing regular updates on its communications with GE Vernova, said a first piece of debris was successfully lifted and no pieces broke off. The recovery was expected to continue Tuesday and a vessel was going to be on standby to collect any debris that floated away.

The broken turbine is about 20 miles away from the Vineyard, at the southernmost point in Vineyard Wind’s lease. The water depth is between 120 and 160 feet.

GE Vernova Tuesday said it had done a survey of the seabed in August and was following a plan it had previously outlined to officials.

Read the full article at the Vineyard Gazette

DELAWARE: Oct. 22 hearing set on dismissal of offshore wind appeal

October 11, 2024 — A South Bethany property owner has filed an appeal challenging the state’s review of two federal consistency certifications for the proposed US Wind offshore wind project that’s planned for the ocean waters off the coast of Maryland, but has a landfall connection north of Bethany Beach at 3R’s Beach. The state’s Environmental Appeals Board has scheduled Tuesday, Oct. 22 hearing on a motion to dismiss the appeal.

Edward Bintz, a Virginia-based attorney who owns property in South Bethany, issued an appeal in August of Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Shawn Garvin’s decision to conditionally concur with two certifications made by US Wind saying it met the state’s Coastal Management Program’s federal consistency policies and procedures. The two certifications are related to the project’s Construction and Operations Plan and the USACE Permits/Authorizations.

Bintz argues that US Wind’s analysis violates the CMP by failing to take into account reasonably foreseeable effects from the project. He also argues that DNREC’s published public notice failed to announce the availability of the federal certifications as well other public notice issues.

Read the full article at the Cape Gazette

NEW YORK: Community Offshore Wind partners with fisheries to donate fresh seafood

October 11, 2024 — Community Offshore Wind is teaming up with local fisheries and hunger relief organizations to deliver thousands of fresh seafood meals to families in need across Long Island, including Long Beach, this fall.

“Commercial fishing is an important industry for New York’s long-term economic growth, and it is critical that offshore wind developers work closely with fishermen to ensure their projects share the waters off our coast effectively,” Steven Wong, owner of Aqua Best Seafood Market, said. “By working with us to purchase the fish for these donations directly from regional fishermen, Community Offshore Wind has shown that they are serious about supporting the industry and delivering clean energy in a way that will not negatively impact our marine ecosystem.”

Read the full article at the Long Island Herald

 

MASSACHUSETTS: Nantucket evaluates economic, environmental fallout from turbine blade

October 10, 2024 — Three months after a blade from an offshore wind turbine near Martha’s Vineyard fell, Nantucket is addressing the failure’s economic and environmental impact.

“While our community is committed to doing our part to address climate change, we have had to confront the very real and lasting adverse impacts of offshore wind development,” the Nantucket Select Board wrote in a letter to the Cape island’s residents on Wednesday.

Read the full article at Mass Live

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Clears Final Federal Hurdle

October 10, 2024 — While a local grassroots organization expressed disappointment over the federal government’s approval of the construction and operations plan for two wind farm projects planned off Long Beach Island, the developers and their supporters are elated at reaching the milestone.

“Atlantic Shores is thrilled to receive approval to build our first two projects and deliver sufficient clean power to serve one third of New Jersey households,” said Joris Veldhoven, chief executive officer of Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind. “Securing these critical approvals enables New Jersey’s first offshore wind project to start construction next year and represents meaningful progress in New Jersey achieving 100% clean energy by 2035.”

The company has until roughly the middle of November to pay the first year’s rent of $13,090 for Project 1’s easement and $112,040 for Project 2’s easement. Moving forward, the annual rent for the lease area and the project easement zone will be due on March 1, the lease anniversary, according to BOEM’s letter to company officials.

The leases, unless otherwise renewed, have a 25-year lifespan from the date of the approval of COP, according to the conditions of construction and operations plan approval issued by BOEM. The document also outlines the time frame for notification prior to construction activities on the outer continental shelf, including seabed preparation such as boulder relocation and pre-lay grapnel runs, and export cable installation among other items.

Read the full article at The Sand Paper

Save LBI files notice of intent to sue Atlantic Shores to halt offshore wind project

October 9, 2024 — Citizens group Save Long Beach Island has notified federal agencies of its intent to sue offshore wind developer Atlantic Shores under the Endangered Species Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Act.

The notices give the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 60 days to resolve issues raised in the filings before the group pursues litigation, according to a news release from Save LBI.

An Atlantic Shores spokesperson said the company cannot comment on active litigation.

Read the full article at the The Press of Atlantic City

MAINE: We hopped on a boat off Massachusetts to see what Maine’s offshore wind future could look like

October 9, 2024 — Gov. Janet Mills’ plan to make Maine an international leader in ocean wind power is reaching a critical juncture.

State officials argue that harnessing wind power can deliver a tremendous amount of clean energy, and that Maine is specially positioned to capitalize on the potential industrial boom.

The governor is leading a state delegation to Norway and Denmark this week to get a firsthand view of those countries’ offshore wind industry and to drum up interest in Maine’s plan to become a major player in the business on this side of the Atlantic.

The trip comes on the heels of the federal government’s lease to Maine of the nation’s first floating offshore wind research array. The 15-square-mile plot about 30 miles off the Maine coast will host 12 turbines built on structures developed by the University of Maine and its private sector partner, Diamond Offshore Wind.

Meanwhile, the state is set on building a specialized port on Sears Island in Searsport to construct and deploy floating wind. A 2023 bill passed by the Legislature and signed by Mills set a goal for Maine to produce 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2040.

In just a few weeks, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will hold a lease sale for eight Gulf of Maine wind sites. If every lease was fully developed, the lease area could potentially generate enough wind energy to power 4.5 million homes.

It will take years for floating offshore wind to become a reality in the Gulf of Maine. But off the coast of Cape Cod, America’s first commercial-scale ocean wind farm offers a glimpse into the future.

Maine Public’s climate desk, along with colleagues from the New England News Collaborative, had a rare opportunity to get an up close and personal view of Vineyard Wind 1, a 62-turbine project under construction south of Martha’s Vineyard.

Read the full article at Maine Public

 

MASSACHUSETTS: GE sends two turbine blades from New Bedford to France

October 8, 2024 — For more than a year, big, blue heavy lift vessels have carried gargantuan GE Vernova wind turbine components into the Port of New Bedford, where, soon after, a barge carries them out as a set: three blades, two tower pieces, and one nacelle.

But on Friday, one of the delivery vessels, the Rolldock Sun, was seen carrying at least two blades out of New Bedford. It was not headed for the Vineyard Wind site, according to vessel tracking websites, but to France: specifically, the Port of Cherbourg, where GE Vernova has a blade manufacturing facility.

The Rolldock Sun had come into port from Cherbourg a few days earlier with four blades visible on deck. Blades for the project have been shipped from factories in Canada and France, but it is unclear how many have come from each.

Friday’s transit raises the question of why the wind project — which spends considerable time and money shipping major components from Canada and France into the U.S. — would ship blades overseas from New Bedford.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light