Saving Seafood

Lawsuit to stop Virginia Beach offshore wind farm claims project is a danger to whales

March 21, 2024 — Several groups filed a lawsuit against federal entities to overturn the approval of a massive wind turbine project off the shore of Virginia Beach, claiming it is a hazard for endangered North Atlantic right whales.

The lawsuit filed by The Heartland Institute, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow and the National Legal and Policy Center names the United States Department of Interior, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the National Marine Fisheries Services, among others. It claims the federal government is on an “aggressive” campaign of developing offshore wind off the Atlantic coast, and the locations of the projects being in right whale habitat poses a major risk for injury or death of the animals.

The coalition said in a statement that the lawsuit is to stop Dominion Energy’s plans to start construction May 1 to protect the North Atlantic right whales. North Atlantic right whale populations have dwindled due to an “unusual mortality event,” according to scientists. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other groups attribute many of the deaths to vessel strikes and entanglement.

“In issuing its ‘biological opinion’ in September, (National Marine Fisheries Services) only examined the impact that each of these projects, individually and in isolation, would have on the North Atlantic right whale,” the coalition said in a statement. “The agency did not, as it should have, issue a comprehensive and cumulative analysis examining the combined harm that all of the projects, together, would inflict on the whales during their annual migration path.”

Read the full article at The Daily Press

Lawsuit filed to halt offshore wind farm, citing concerns for whales

March 20, 2024 — An environmental lawsuit filed by a handful of conservative groups could interfere with Dominion Energy’s plans to begin constructing Virginia’s offshore wind project on May 1.

The Heartland Institute, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, and the National Legal and Policy Center alleged that federal agencies, as part of their environmental assessment of the project, neglected to perform a full analysis of the harm that could come to the endangered North American right whale as a result. 

The plaintiffs argue that the Bureau of Ocean Management and the National Marine Fisheries Service are legally compelled to evaluate – not just the potential harm from the Virginia project – but the dangers the project might pose to the species in combination with the dozens of other offshore wind projects along the East Coast. 

“What BOEM and Marine Fisheries did is carve this integrated program of putting offshore wind off the East Coast – they carved it into little pieces. There’s a little piece here, which is Virginia, and a little piece there, which is Maryland, another piece which is New York,” Collister Johnson, Jr., senior adviser to the Committee, told The Center Square. “The courts are really clear that you can’t do that and minimize and understate what the actual harm is.”

Read the full article at The Center Square

‘A lot of people are upset.’ Vineyard Wind compensation offer for fishermen stirs worries

March 20, 2024 — Commercial fishers who are sharing part of their customary fishing waters with Vineyard Wind may be eligible for compensation through the developers’ Fisheries Compensatory Mitigation Program — one that offers a $19.1 million bucket for Massachusetts fishers to dip into, and a combined $7.5 million for fishers from other states who’ve routinely plied the same area in recent years.

“It’s focused on fishermen who have traditionally fished in the area,” said Crista Bank, fisheries manager for Vineyard Wind.

So, in order to be eligible, fishers will need to show they’ve fished within the project’s lease area forat least three yearsbetween 2016 and 2022.

It’s meant to bring relief to fishers already limited by regulations and allowable catch volumes, though there are many questions among fishermen, as well as criticism that there isn’t enough funding, the eligibility criteria are too limiting, and the program doesn’t take into account the effects fishers who work outside of the lease area may experience.

A joint venture of Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, the 804-megawatt Vineyard Wind project is under construction in the shallow waters of the outer continental shelf 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. There are 62 turbines, each a mile apart, planned for the nearly 261-square-mile lease area. Five of them became fully operational on Feb. 21.

Read the full article at Cape Cod Times

 

VIRGINIA: Dominion Energy monitoring nest in transmission line

March 20, 2024 — A possible eagles’ nest could’ve meant a snag in the construction of an electric transmission line for Virginia’s offshore wind project in Virginia Beach.

However, Dominion Energy said it has no plans to do anything with the nest, and it will not affect the work it is doing.

“We got a picture of bald eagles in this nest,” said Matt Overton, a biological consultant for Dominion Energy, “and we wanted to make sure that the bald eagles hadn’t taken over this nest as we’ve seen in Virginia.

And while normally that wouldn’t be a problem, the nest in question happens to be part of a transmission line that will deliver power generated by the offshore wind project.

Read the full article at WAVY

MARYLAND: Maryland debates “local” wind farm, way offshore

March 20, 2024 — Maryland wants to expand its use of renewable energy by encouraging local projects like wind turbines.

But one company’s plan to build windmills in waters off the coast is running into trouble this session in the General Assembly, where lawmakers worry about giving their economic support to a project that isn’t exactly local.

The proposed project would be built off the coast of Virginia Beach — close by, but technically outside Maryland waters.

Read the full article at The Star Democrat

MASSACHUSETTS: Offshore wind compensation programs open for Mass. fishermen

March 20, 2024 — With two offshore wind projects (partially) up and running, Massachusetts fishing permit and vessel owners may now enroll in compensation programs to cover economic losses caused by the construction and operations of wind farms. The millions in funds are available to fishermen of certain states, but depending on the state they fish out of or the project they’re affected by, they’ll encounter different rules and conditions in order to receive that compensation.

Because the projects and funds are independent of (and different from) one another, fishermen must apply separately to be eligible for each program. This process, and criticism of it, have prompted efforts underway at the state and national level to establish a regional or national fund that would standardize and simplify the process across states, fisheries and developers.

Fishing vessels are not barred from transiting or fishing in the wind leases once construction is completed. However, some captains are wary of towing their nets within and may outright avoid the arrays, where turbines are spaced one-nautical mile apart and linked to one another via high voltage cables buried at least 5 feet deep.

Developers are encouraged to follow a hierarchy when it comes to project impacts: first avoid, then minimize, then mitigate. Compensation falls within that last step. When other options (like avoidance of a fishery) are not possible, developers mitigate those impacts through these financial compensation programs.

Vineyard Wind’s program

Vineyard Wind entered an agreement with Massachusetts in 2020, establishing a $19 million fund to compensate affected fishermen and shoreside businesses that provide goods or services to the fishing industry.

“The launch of these funds is the latest example of our commitment to working with the fishing industry to create successful programs together,” said Crista Bank, the fisheries manager for Vineyard Offshore (Vineyard Wind’s parent company), when the program opened this month. “We’ve also employed dozens of fishing vessels to work on different scopes of the project, a model we hope to expand as we develop projects around North America.”

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

More ocean space for offshore wind

March 20, 2024 — Opening a new frontier in the region’s offshore wind power push, the federal government on Friday finalized its designation of a two million-acre wind energy area off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said the designated Gulf of Maine area would support President Joe Biden’s goals of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind energy capacity by 2035.

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.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light

NEW JERSEY: Feds seek input on 157-wind turbine project off Long Beach Island

March 19, 2024 — A federal agency is seeking public input starting this week on a wind energy array containing as many as 157 turbines off Long Beach Island.

The Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind project would stretch from Atlantic City to Barnegat Light and at its closest approach, be 8.4 miles offshore, according to documents released by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM. The project is expected to power about 700,000 homes, according to the company’s website.

BOEM announced it would begin the environmental review for Atlantic Shore’s construction andoperations plan on Monday.

In addition to building as many as 157 turbines, construction would include eight offshore substations, a meteorological tower, two buoys for measuring wind and two cable corridors. The cable corridors will connect to the onshore grid at Sea Girt, and potentially near Asbury Park or New York City, according to BOEM.

Read the full article at app. 

Despite fierce opposition, South Fork Wind completes turbines

March 19, 2024 — South Fork Wind, an array of 12 turbines 35 miles east of Montauk, N.Y., became the first fully operational offshore wind energy project in U.S. federal waters on March 14. This milestone for the U.S. industry was one of its earliest and most bitterly fought projects.

In May 2023, fishermen pointed out that Ørsted and co-developer Eversource Energy LLC illegally expanded the no-fishing and no-travel zones while laying cables connecting the turbines to the mainland electric grid east of Montauk.

The approved construction plan called for a 500-meter buffer on either side of the cables; however, on April 20, fishermen in the area stated, allegedly, that they were told by the Ørsted vessel that they must stay a mile and a half away from each side of the cable. Many other groups and New York natives have initially opposed the project.

With a maximum nameplate rating of 132 megawatts, South Fork Wind was first approved by the Long Island Power Authority in 2017. Partners Ørsted and Eversource began construction in February 2022, and completion was announced Thursday.

“When I broke ground on the South Fork project, I promised to build a cleaner, greener future for all New Yorkers,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said, announcing the completion. “With more projects in the pipeline, this is just the beginning of New York’s offshore wind future. I look forward to continued partnership with the Biden Administration and local leaders to build a clean and resilient energy grid.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Fishermen can now get paid if Vineyard Wind hurts business

March 19, 2o24 — Vineyard Wind is inviting fishermen to apply for compensation if they’ve been impacted by the offshore wind farm 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.

Fishermen have 90 days to show they’ve historically used the lease area. A third party administrator — with the help of fishing representatives — will decide how to divide up a $19.1 million pot through the Fisheries Compensatory Mitigation Program to Massachusetts fishermen.

Rhode Island fishermen will have access to $4.2 million, and $3.3 million will be divided between fishermen in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. The area may have been used by those who target everything from squid, to clams, scallops, lobster and more.

“I feel good about this mitigation fund,” said Beth Casoni, executive director of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association. “Vineyard Wind is the first offshore wind developer to have steel in federal waters and to come out with their mitigation plan.”

Read the full article at wbur