Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Massachusetts and its neighbors receive offshore wind project proposals

March 30, 2024 — Following more than a year of tumult in the industry that called into question the future of offshore wind in New England, Massachusetts and its southern neighbors on Wednesday got the menu of options for the next phase of clean energy development.

Massachusetts is seeking as much as 3,600 megawatts of offshore wind capacity in its fourth procurement round, its biggest procurement ever. And through a tri-state partnership with Rhode Island and Connecticut, Massachusetts and its neighbors are planning to coordinate their selections for a combined 6,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy capacity, leading to the possibility of multi-state projects although the newly submitted bids in the aggregate fall short of reaching that 6,000 megawatt threshold.

The latest round of bids comes after Massachusetts and other states in the Northeast went backwards on offshore wind over the last year and a half. Both projects selected in Massachusetts’ last procurement became much more expensive as inflation took off and the war in Ukraine snarled supply chains, and the developers behind them paid multi-million dollar fines to back out of the contracts they had agreed to. Both projects were re-bid in some form Wednesday, are are expected to come with a higher price to ratepayers.

By Wednesday’s noon deadline, Massachusetts received proposals from three developers who also submitted their proposals for the multi-state solicitation: Vineyard Offshore, Avangrid Renewables and SouthCoast Wind. At their maximum, the projects that were bid to Massachusetts on Wednesday would represent a cumulative 4,270 megawatts of capacity. The developer Orsted also bid a 1,184 megawatt project to Rhode Island and Connecticut, making approximately 5,454 megawatts available for the multi-state effort.

Read the full article at wbur

CONNECTICUT: Ørsted pitches offshore wind project for State Pier in New London

March 28, 2024 — NEW LONDON — Ørsted, the Danish energy company staging offshore wind projects at State Pier, announced Wednesday it has pitched a proposal for its biggest U.S. wind farm to date with New London as its base.

Ørsted submitted a proposal for the 1,184-megawatt Starboard Wind to both Connecticut and Rhode Island as part of a three-state wind solicitation in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island that was due Wednesday.

The Danish wind giant was one of four companies to announce bids in the tri-state solicitation. Avangrid, SouthCoast Wind and Vineyard Offshore also made proposals as part of an auction in which the three states combined could enter power purchase agreements of up to 6,800 megawatts of offshore wind power.

Vineyard Offshore, partnered with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, submitted a proposal to all three states for the 1,200-megawatt Vineyard Wind 2. That project would be located 29 miles south of Nantucket in Massachusetts, and would be staged in Salem, Mass., and have a grid connection in Montville by way of New London, the company said in a statement.

Avangrid, a member of the Iberdrola Group, has two proposals totaling 1,870 megawatts: the 791-megawatt New England Wind 1, formerly known as Bridgeport-based Park City Wind, and the 1,080-megawatt New England Wind 2. Avangrid is spearheading the development of the Vineyard Wind 1 project, which is currently under construction and will deliver power to the Massachusetts grid.

Read the full article at Yahoo! Finance

Strong Interest in NE Wind Solicitation as Ørsted, Avangrid, CIP Bid

March 28, 2024 — Experts are predicting strong participation in the New England regional offshore wind energy solicitation due to close today. Announced in October 2023, the program coordinated the next phase of wind energy projects between Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island and was designed to counter some of the pressures that slowed the industry’s progress in 2023.

Where companies including Ørsted were moving to withdraw from projects and canceling power purchase agreements in 2023, the same companies are now aggressively bidding for the next round of projects. Ørsted, Avangrid, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners each announced their entries citing a long list of regional benefits and planned investments.

Reuters was quoting experts saying that other companies were likely to enter bids today. Engie is expected to make a proposal according to Reuters. Both BP and EDP are also in a position to possibly submit proposals. The regional, multi-state solicitation calls for as much as 6.8 GW of wind energy capacity.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

Biden administration approves the nation’s seventh large offshore wind project

March 27, 2024 — The Biden administration greenlit the seventh large offshore wind project in the United States Tuesday.

Danish wind energy developer Ørsted and the utility Eversource plan to build a 924-megawatt project, Sunrise Wind, 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Montauk, New York. They say the wind farm will power about 600,000 New York homes when it opens in 2026.

This month, the companies opened the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm. The 12-turbine wind farm called South Fork Wind is 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Montauk. They announced their financial commitment to the Sunrise Wind project when the Interior Department issued its decision.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Fishing industry reels over Biden’s destructive wind farm plan: It’s ‘coming at us from every direction’

March 27, 2024 — Time is running out for fishermen and women in the Northeast who fear their industry is being put at risk by the Biden administration’s renewable energy agenda.

“Ground fishermen, lobstermen, whatever you are, you’re under the microscope right now, and it just seems to be something coming at us from every direction,” New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) COO Dustin Delano said on “The Big Money Show” Monday.

“And with this offshore wind agenda out there to attempt to fight climate change,” he continued, “it’s almost like environmentalists and different folks are willing to destroy the environment to protect the environment.”

Two weeks ago, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), an agency within the Department of Interior, announced the finalization of what is known as a wind energy area (WEA), which is an area of the ocean that would allot for construction of enough wind turbines to produce 32 gigawatts (GW) of energy.

Read the full article at FOX Business

Ørsted Greenlights Seventh US Offshore Wind Farm as it Gets BOEM Approval

March 27, 2024 — The U.S. continues to push forward with its efforts to develop renewable offshore wind energy with the Biden administration highlighting that it has approved the seventh offshore wind farm. This comes as the latest in the series of rapid developments as the efforts reach the conclusion of the long permitting process and the administrations seek to add more opportunities into the pipeline.

The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today issued the Record of Decision for the Sunrise Wind project to provide power to New York State. It is a key hurdle for the project that was first auctioned in 2013. BOEM’s issuance of the Record of Decision formally concludes its National Environmental Policy Act review process and precedes the anticipated approval of Sunrise Wind’s Construction and Operations Plan, expected this summer.

The lease area is located approximately 16.4 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and approximately 26.5 nm east of Montauk, New York. The project calls for a capacity of 924 MW which they report will provide power for the equivalent of 600,000 homes in New York State.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

OREGON: Fishing interests urge Kotek to halt offshore auction

March 27, 2024 — The following was released by Midwater Trawlers Cooperative:

A consortium of fishermen, processors, and others in the seafood industry are urging Oregon Governor Tina Kotek to halt the auction of ocean leases for offshore wind energy. While leasing is the work of the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), agency representatives have publicly stated BOEM would defer to state wishes before moving forward.

Today, the Protect US Fishermen coalition joined Oregon tribes and submitted a letter imploring the governor to “relay to BOEM that no offshore wind lease auction should occur off the South Coast until after the Oregon Roadmap is completed.”

When finished, the roadmap will outline considerations and recommendations relating to offshore wind energy in Oregon. The considerations for the Roadmap have been crafted over several months by a diverse group of stakeholders and will include exit ramps, or a means by which Oregon can change course if offshore wind development strays from the outlined recommendations. The diverse group has been facilitated by Oregon Consensus.

According to BOEM, offshore lease auctioning could happen as soon as October 2024. In their letter, the consortium of fishing interests made the case for a delay.

“It is our understanding that if an auction is not completed in 2024, the next opportunity would be in 2026. This timing works well with the completion of a roadmap and is responsive to the concerns from existing ocean users and coastal communities alike. Offshore floating wind energy does not currently exist anywhere in the world in waters deeper than 300 meters or at the scale being contemplated for the West Coast. In addition to the roadmap, Oregon would benefit significantly by learning from projects that are already moving forward, such as those on the East Coast and in California,” the letter states.

BOEM has ignored recent requests for an extended period of public comment, despite the request coming from tribal leaders, Oregon’s Coastal Caucus, Oregon senators Wyden and Merkley and Congresswoman Hoyle, fishing interests, and more. Fishermen are hoping that a more forceful response from Gov. Kotek will change the tide.

In the most recent legislative session, lawmakers passed HB4080 which, among other things, directs the Oregon Department of Energy to develop an Offshore Wind Roadmap that “defines standards to be considered in the processes related to offshore wind energy development and approval.” That legislation is on Kotek’s desk, awaiting signature.

 

NEW JERSEY: NJ steers $3.7M toward studies of offshore wind’s environmental impacts

March 26, 2024 — New Jersey officials pledged $3.7 million for scientific research and monitoring of the environmental impacts of offshore wind energy off the Jersey Shore.

Support for offshore wind remains politically polarized. Critics argue that construction and operation of ocean wind turbines would harm marine animals and outweigh environmental benefits.

Advocates counter that inaction on reducing greenhouse gas emissions will lead to more harm to the ocean environment due to warming water temperatures and ocean acidification.

The new award, announced Monday by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette and New Jersey Board of Public Utilities President Christine Guhl-Sadovy, will fund the state’s Offshore Wind Research and Monitoring Initiative.

Read the full article at app.

MASSACHUSETTES: Massachusetts fishermen say feds are hypocritical in Gulf of Maine wind energy designation

March 25, 2024 — A move to designate two million acres in the Gulf of Maine as a hub for wind energy is snagging a sharp hook from Massachusetts fishermen who say the development overlooks risks to the North Atlantic right whale.

A handful of Bay State fishermen advocacy groups are teaming with counterparts from across New England in criticizing the Biden administration’s plans to industrialize the area off the coasts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management finalized the designation earlier this month, an action it says looks to support President Biden’s clean energy goals.

The area, which ranges from 23 to 92 miles off the coasts of the three states, has the potential to support generation of 32 gigawatts of clean energy, the bureau said. That amount of energy surpasses “current state goals for offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Maine: 10 GW for Massachusetts and 3 GW for Maine,” BOEM said.

Specifically, industrialization could lead to the deployment of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind energy capacity by 2035, according to the feds.

Local, state and federal officials over the years have mandated fishermen to follow a growing number of protocols to preserve the endangered right whales — in some cases, barring them from taking to certain waters.

Read the full article at the Boston Herald

US Speeds Offshore Wind Farm Development with More Reviews and Tax Guidance

March 25, 2024 — The Biden administration continues to place a high priority on offshore wind as a key part of the country’s renewable energy strategy and is taking steps to support and accelerate the development of the industry. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced plans to start the environmental review for another project while the Treasury Department finally issued long-awaited updates on the tax credits the industry views as essential to its planning.

BOEM reports that it will commence the environmental review of the plan submitted for Vineyard Northeast, the second project from Copenhagen Investment Partners which already has the Vineyard Wind Farm under construction with Avangrid. This second project calls for 2.6 GW of capacity located 29 miles offshore of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

The Vineyard Northeast proposal includes the installation of up to 160 wind turbine generators, up to three electrical service platforms, and one booster station in an adjacent lease area. It also envisions two offshore export cable corridors, one to Connecticut and one to Massachusetts, and associated onshore transmission systems.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive