Saving Seafood

Feds pick New England’s offshore wind development area, drawing cheers and questions alike

March 15, 2024 — The federal government on Friday designated a large area off the New England coast for offshore wind production development, setting the stage for a possible lease sale within the Gulf of Maine.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said in a statement that the New England zone, which renewable energy advocates have identified as crucial for the growth of wind power, “avoids important areas for lobster fishing, North Atlantic right whale habitat, and other important fishing areas and habitats.”

Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills, and three Maine lawmakers — Republican Sen. Susan Collins, independent Sen. Angus King and Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree — also issued a joint statement saying the designated area “preserves vital fishing grounds and seeks to minimize potential environmental and ecological impacts to the Gulf of Maine.”

Read the full article at the Associated Press

South Fork Wind’s 12 turbines completed

March 15, 2024 — The last of 12 turbines in the South Fork Wind project 35 miles east of Montauk, N.Y., were completed March 14.

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.

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 made a promise to build a cleaner, greener future for all New Yorkers,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. With more projects in the pipeline, this is just the beginning of New York’s offshore wind future, and I look forward to continued partnership with the Biden Administration and local leaders to build a clean and resilient energy grid.”

The Hochul administration aims to have 9 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035 and recently announced two new project awards, Empire Wind I, and Sunrise Wind, for over 1,730 MW.

Read the full article at Workboat

NEW YORK: New York Completes First Utility-Scale Offshore Wind Farm in the U.S.

March 15, 2024 — Elected officials in New York State joined with industry leaders and Ørsted and its partners to mark the completed construction of South Fork Wind. The 132 MW project is considered to be the United States’ first commercial-scale offshore wind farm. The offshore work was completed in approximately nine months with 12 turbines and is being hailed as a symbol of what is going to be coming to the U.S. clean energy industry.

“We’re thrilled to celebrate the completion of the South Fork project,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “Today is further proof that America’s clean energy transition is not a dream for a distant future – it’s happening right here and now.”

With all 12 of South Fork Wind’s turbines installed, the wind farm is delivering power to the local Long Island electric grid while commissioning is in its final stage. At full capacity, the wind farm, which is located roughly 35 miles off the coast of Montauk at the eastern tip of Long Island will generate enough renewable energy to power approximately 70,000 homes and will eliminate up to six million tons of carbon emissions over the 20-year life of the project.?

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

NEW YORK: FERC approves first offshore wind project to connect to New York’s grid, Equinor says

March 14, 2024 — Energy firm Equinor on Wednesday announced the first Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval for an offshore wind project to connect directly into the New York City transmission system.

FERC on March 1 approved the Large Generator Interconnection Agreement (LGIA) executed between the company’s Empire Wind 1 project, New York ISO (NYISO) and Consolidated Edison Co, Equinor said in a release.

Read the full article at Yahoo Finance

Exail’s DriX USV Conducts First-of-its-Kind Survey in U.S Windfarm Areas

March 12, 2024 — Exail’s DriX Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) recently completed a first-of-its-kind fisheries research survey to assess the impact on biomass and fish stock before, during and after wind farm construction.

Equipped with a SeapiX-R 3D high resolution multibeam echosounder from Exail, two Kongsberg EK80 single beam echosounders and a Nortek ADCP, the DriX USV performed this survey off the coast of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York for NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Research Science Center (NEFSC), in close collaboration with NOAA USxOC, as well as Kongsberg and Nortek.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

Two groups appeal the selection of new offshore wind projects for New Jersey, citing cost

March 11, 2024 — Two homeowners’ groups are challenging New Jersey’s preliminary approval of two new offshore wind power projects, saying they would be unlawfully costly to electricity customers.

Protect Our Coast New Jersey and Defend Brigantine Beach and Downbeach filed an appeal to the approval Tuesday in state court, saying that power contracts granted to the project developers violate state law.

The state Board of Public Utilities in January chose Attentive Energy LLC and Leading Light Wind LLC to build offshore wind projects.

Read the full article at the Associated Press 

‘We cannot fish in a wind farm’: Local fishermen file lawsuit over offshore wind project

March 11, 2024 — Many people in Morro Bay have mixed feelings about a planned offshore wind project. Now, a lawsuit has been filed.

The Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization and the Port San Luis Commercial Fisherman’s Association claim some rules and regulations related to the project have not been followed.

The Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization was incorporated in 1972 and has around 100 members.

“We’ve been here for a while and we’ve got an incredibly good reputation in all of those years, and we are very proud of it,” said Jeremiah O’Brien, Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization Vice President.

Read the full article at KSBY

Wind-farm opponents encouraged after hearing

March 9, 2024 — The U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals appears unlikely to overturn the approval of the Vineyard Wind offshore energy project sought by the advocacy group ACK for Whales (formerly Nantucket Residents Against Turbines), according to reporting from courthouse news services that covered a pretrial hearing Tuesday, citing questions the judges asked both sides.

But Amy DiSibio, a member of ACK for Whales who attended the hearing in Boston, had a much different take.

“I did not get that impression at all,” she said. “We left the courtroom feeling as confident as we could be, From what I understand the majority of these appeal cases get settled without a hearing. So, we felt really good that they were taking this seriously enough that they wanted (to hold a hearing).”

Read the full article at The Inquirer and Mirror

VIRGINIA: Dominion Energy to pay nearly $1M over turbine views in Virginia Beach

March 9, 2024 — Virginia utility Dominion Energy will pay nearly $1 million to offset the impacts to coastal views from its 176-turbine offshore wind farm in Virginia Beach.

The company will pay the city $290,000 for visual impacts. Virginia Beach’s City Council voted earlier this week to use the money for historical preservation projects. Separately, the Richmond, Virginia, power company will pay $650,000 to the first Cape Henry Lighthouse on the Virginia coast, also for visual impacts. The Dominion payments were first reported by The Virginian-Pilot.

Dominion is also contributing $550,000 to the Currituck Beach Lighthouse in North Carolina.

Read the full article at E&E News

NEW JERSEY: Grassroots Groups File Appeal of Offshore Wind Contracts

March 7, 2024 — New Jersey citizens action groups Defend Brigantine Beach and Downbeach (DBB) and Protect Our Coast New Jersey (POCNJ) filed notices of appeal on Tuesday against the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) in the state Appellate Court.

The appeals challenge the legality of two recent NJBPU Orders granting Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate (OREC) contracts to offshore wind project developers Attentive Energy LLC and Leading Light Wind LLC, according to a news release.

The contracts entitle Attentive Energy and Leading Light Wind to receive payments averaging more than 15 cents/kwh for 3742 MW of power over 20 years, compared with the 6 cents/kwh wholesale price of power available to state utilities.

The organizations supporting the appeal are represented by attorney Bruce I. Afran of Princeton.

The BPU has conducted its solicitations and award of contracts to offshore wind developers in secrecy with no opportunity for public involvement until they issue a final order. Even then the basis for its decision is hidden from public view with the most critical information redacted from the public record, the release says.

Read the full article at OCNJDaily