Saving Seafood

8 Gulf of Maine sites picked for possible commercial offshore wind leases

May 2, 2024 — The federal government is proposing eight areas in the Gulf of Maine as possible sites for commercial offshore wind farms.

The proposed lease areas cover about 1 million acres and have the potential to generate 15 gigawatts of energy, enough to power five million homes, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said Tuesday.

Two of the sites, encompassing nearly 254,000 acres, are off the Maine coast. The remaining six are located off Massachusetts.

In choosing the lease sites, BOEM said it wanted to avoid offshore fishing grounds and transit routes for ships. The eight proposed sites represent about half of the 2 million acres that BOEM chose as its “final wind energy area” for the Gulf of Maine, which the agency announced last month.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Dominion Energy says court challenge not delaying Virginia wind project

May 2, 2024 — A coalition of groups opposing the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project was in a Washington, D.C. federal court this week, seeking a preliminary injunction to stop construction work in May. 

Conservative activist groups the Heartland Institute, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), and the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) sued Dominion Energy and the Biden administration over federal permits for the planned 2.6 gigawatt project of 176 turbines.

The plaintiffs claim the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and other federal agencies “have not done the legally required research to determine the project won’t harm the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale,” according to a Heartland Institute statement.

U.S. District Court Judge Loren AliKhan called on lawyers for Dominion, the government and plaintiffs to file more papers and responses by May 9, before she rules on the groups’ request for a preliminary injunction.

Read the full story at WorkBoat

NEW JERSEY: More offshore wind farms? New Jersey opens 4th round of bidding

May 1, 2024 — New Jersey officials pushed forward with plans to expand the state’s offshore wind power sector, despite recent slowdowns and setbacks in the industry.

The state Board of Public Utilities opened the fourth offshore wind power solicitation Tuesday, seeking proposals from companies for wind projects that could add 1.2 to 4 gigawatts of electricity production to the power grid.

New Jersey has already approved three offshore wind projects: Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, Attentive Energy Two and Leading Light Wind. Each of the projects remains in the permitting process. The companies have not yet broken ground for the turbine bases in the Atlantic Ocean.

Other offshore wind projects – including Ørsted’s two New Jersey projects and three offshore wind farm plans for New York – have been canceled or put on hold over the past 12 months. Companies say inflation, supply chain disruptions and high interest rates are contributing to the challenges facing the industry.

Read the full article at Asbury Park Press

BOEM Proposes Offshore Wind Area Auctions in Gulf of Mexico and Oregon

May 2, 2024 — The U.S. Department of the Interior took its next steps in the aggressive plans to accelerate the development of offshore wind energy in the U.S. They released proposals for two new wind areas off the coast of Oregon and in the Gulf of Maine which they said combined could provide 18 GW of energy. It however includes more controversial areas especially along the Oregon coast.

The Biden Administration highlights that it has already approved eight offshore sites with a combined capacity of more than 10 GW, which they said will power nearly four million homes. They are also continuing the lengthy review process for additional proposals after having conducted four auctions including the New York Bight, offshore of the Carolina, and the first sales off the coast of California, and in the Gulf of Mexico.

Today’s proposals include eight lease areas offshore Marine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Combined it represents nearly one million acres in the Gulf of Maine and the potential for 15 GW. The Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM) is proposing to conduct simultaneous auctions for each of the eight lease areas. Before finalizing the plan, they said they are seeking feedback on various aspects including the size of the lease areas, orientation, and location. They are also looking for input if any areas should be prioritized for inclusion or exclusion.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

MAINE: Federal government seeking feedback ahead of Gulf of Maine offshore wind auction

May 1, 2024 — As Maine is still figuring out where to build a port for its budding offshore wind industry, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced its proposal to auction offshore wind leases in the Gulf of Maine Tuesday.

As part of the Biden administration’s efforts to drive more offshore wind development, the Gulf of Maine is slated to have eight lease areas offshore Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, which have the potential to generate 15 gigawatts of clean energy to power more than five million homes, according to a news release from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

“We’re taking decisive action to catalyze America’s offshore wind industry and leverage American innovation to provide reliable, affordable power to homes and businesses, all while addressing the climate crisis,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.

Read the full article at the Maine Morning Star

Court shuts down offshore wind challenges over endangered whale

May 1, 2024 — Two attempts to sink the first major offshore wind project in the country over its impact to an endangered whale were shot down this week by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Solar developer Thomas Melone of Connecticut and a coalition of coastal residents in Massachusetts had separately sought to block the 62-turbine Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts. They argued that federal agencies did not address how offshore wind farm construction could threaten the endangered North American right whale population when issuing key permits.

Their appeals are part of a flurry of lawsuits that have sought, and so far failed, to bring down major offshore renewable projects that are keystones in President Joe Biden’s climate policy.

Read the full article at E&E News

 

Court shuts down offshore wind challenges over endangered whale

April 30, 2024 — Two attempts to sink the first major offshore wind project in the country over its impact to an endangered whale were shot down this week by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Solar developer Thomas Melone of Connecticut and a coalition of coastal residents in Massachusetts had separately sought to block the 62-turbine Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts. They argued that federal agencies did not address how offshore wind farm construction could threaten the endangered North American right whale population when issuing key permits.

Their appeals are part of a flurry of lawsuits that have sought, and so far failed, to bring down major offshore renewable projects that are keystones in President Joe Biden’s climate policy.

Read the full article at E&E News

MASSACHUSETTS: Offshore wind expansion will rely on ports, including New Bedford

April 30, 2024 — The federal government’s announcement last week of up to 12 more lease sales on both coasts by 2028 means more demand (and potential work opportunities) for vessels and ports, including the Port of New Bedford.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland made the announcement at a wind industry conference in New Orleans, where she and other federal officials also shared the news of millions in funding for offshore wind research, and the streamlining of rules governing how the government holds auctions and reviews projects.

“This is so exciting because it means that developers and communities can expect predictability and transparency as they plan for future projects,” Haaland said. “It also means that all stakeholders from tribes to states to fisheries to academia have more time to weigh in on the process.”

The closest lease sales to Massachusetts will be the Gulf of Maine this year, and the New York Bight, in 2027 (the last one was in 2022 with six areas going to bid). There were no announced lease sales for the coast of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

Court Denies Nantucket Group’s Appeal of Vineyard Wind

April 29, 2024 — A federal court has rejected a Nantucket group’s claim that regulators didn’t follow the Endangered Species Act and other environmental law when reviewing the Vineyard Wind offshore wind energy farm.

In a 36-page opinion Wednesday, a panel of judges with the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals denied the ACK for Whales group claim, which sought to halt the project currently being constructed about 14 miles to the Vineyard’s south. It is just the latest in a slew of lawsuits that have not gained traction against the wind farm, one of the first commercial-scale projects to be built in the country.

The Nantucket group, formerly known as Nantucket Residents Against Turbines, asserted that the project was endangering the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale and the National Marine Fisheries Service was relying on defective data to make decisions.

The U.S. District Court in Boston rejected the claims in May 2023, prompting the group to turn to the federal appeals court.

But the higher court wasn’t swayed.

Read the full article at the Vineyard Gazette

Activists seek lockdown on New England wind project

April 28, 2024 — A Rhode Island-based environmental group asked a federal court to freeze work on the Revolution Wind project, saying the plans require a new biological opinion on potential effects on endangered sei and fin whales.

Green Oceans filed its original lawsuit in January challenging the southern New England offshore wind project.  On April 18 the group’s lawyers were back at U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth’s court in Washington, D.C., with a motion to stay all permits and approvals for the project.

The activists say they made their move because the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Protected Resources reinitiated a required consultation under the Endangered Species Act.

Originally issued by NOAA in July 2023, the ESA process was restarted because of

“insufficient protections for the endangered sei and fin whales and for two species of endangered turtles,” Green Oceans said in a statement. “The Biological Opinion, a required element for the approval and construction of any offshore wind project, is a comprehensive assessment of the anticipated impacts on marine animals during the life of the project, from construction to decommissioning.”

Read the full article at Workboat