Saving Seafood

Feds’ plan aims to help whales and offshore wind farms coexist

January 31, 2024 — In the midst of the critical North Atlantic Right Whale calving season along the East Coast, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) unveiled a strategy to navigate the intersection of offshore wind projects and the endangered species’ habitat.

Marine mammal advocates welcomed a final joint federal strategy to save the whales and develop offshore wind where the two might collide. It stresses teamwork, research, strict monitoring and mitigation. That includes also avoiding leasing in areas where major impacts to North Atlantic Right Whales may occur.

“We believe that we can recover North Atlantic Right Whales and support responsibly developed offshore wind,” said Gib Brogan of Oceana. “But it puts a burden on the federal government to make sure that that balance happens.”

Read the full article at NJ Spotlight News

NEW JERSEY: Offshore wind foes welcome push to site projects further off NJ coast

January 31, 2024 — One of the more vocal opponents of the state’s offshore wind program is praising last week’s decision to build two wind farms because, at more than 40 miles off the Jersey coast, they will be out of sight.

“We think it is a step in the right direction,’’ said Bob Stern, president of Save Long Beach Island, a group that had gone to court to block the initial offshore wind projects nearer to the coast, referring to the two new projects approved by the state Board of Public Utilities.

Leading Light Wind and Attentive Energy got the go-ahead to build a total of 3,742 megawatts of offshore wind capacity, enough to power 1.8 million homes when the wind turbines become operational in 2030 or 2031.

Read the full article at New Jersey Spotlight News

VIRGINIA: Dominion wind project gets final 2 permits

January 31, 2024 — Federal regulators have issued the last two major approvals needed for Dominion Energy to begin construction of the largest U.S. offshore wind farm.

The facility, 25 miles in the Atlantic off the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, will have 176 turbines capable of generating enough electricity to power up to 660,000 homes.

The more than $9 billion project is due to come on line in 2026.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued its final approval of Dominion’s construction and operations plan. This is a detailed plan for building and operating an offshore facility that the bureau reviews for its environmental impact and technical feasibility.

Read the full article at the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Cape residents air objections to current plans for offshore wind

January 30, 2024 — Cape Cod residents who object to the offshore wind plans for Massachusetts — in whole or in part — met for a four-hour conference Saturday in Hyannis.

More than 200 people turned out for the event, organized by Barnstable residents’ group Save Greater Dowses Beach and others.

Susanne Conley, chair of the Dowses Beach group, said the conference aimed to give voice to people who have been derided for their concerns about offshore wind turbines and the infrastructure they require.

“We have pitched a large tent here,” she said. “We do not think alike about ocean wind farms, but we share this: We have been dismissed, ridiculed, gaslighted by ocean wind developers and the federal and state regulatory agencies and officials that, in my opinion, are giving them a much, much too easy pass.”

Speakers pointed to potential harm to wildlife and fisheries, and to the difficulty of rescuing mariners from a storm if turbines are nearby.

Read the full article at nhpr

Ørsted Cancels Maryland Power Agreement as it Reviews US Offshore Wind Plan

January 29, 2024 — Ørsted is continuing with its efforts to realign its U.S. offshore wind portfolio while also taking steps to emphasize that it remains committed to the market and sees future opportunities. The U.S. division of the Danish offshore developer however announced that it has walked away from existing power agreements in New York and now Maryland positioning the projects for future offtake opportunities.

Plans for Skipjack Wind, a two-phase project with the potential for 966 MW of energy, were setback as the company reported it will withdraw from existing power agreements with the Maryland Public Service Commission agreed to in 2020 and 2021. The company said it determined that the payment amounts outlined in the orders “are no longer commercially viable,” while again citing market conditions, including inflation, high interest rates, and supply chain constraints.

According to Ørsted, the decision to withdraw from the orders with Maryland will “reposition Skipjack Wind for future offtake opportunities.” It is unclear then they might be able to rebid these projects.

Unlike its decision in November 2023 to end two New Jersey offshore wind projects, Ørsted intends to continue advancing development and permitting for the two phases of Skipjack. The company is submitting an updated Construction and Operations Plan for the wind farms to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for review.

Read the full article at the Maritime Executive

Ørsted agrees to acquire Eversource’s 50% share of Sunrise Wind project

January 30, 2024 — Danish company Ørsted has agreed to acquire utility company Eversource Energy’s 50% stake in a 924-megawatt offshore wind farm in New York, Sunrise Wind.

Eversource, based in Hartford and Boston, previously announced that it would divest its 50% ownership stake in three offshore wind projects in New York and Connecticut, including Sunrise Wind.

As a result, Eversource will take a 2023 fourth-quarter charge of up to $1.6 billion.

Read the full article at Hartford Business 

U.S. sets plans to protect endangered whales near offshore wind farms; firms swap wind leases

January 26, 2024 — Two federal environmental agencies issued plans Thursday to better protect endangered whales amid offshore wind farm development.

That move came as two offshore wind developers announced they were swapping projects.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released final plans to protect endangered North American right whales, of which there are only about 360 left in the world.

The agencies said they are trying to find ways to better protect the whales amid a surge of offshore wind farm projects, particularly on the U.S. East Coast. They plan to look for ways to mitigate any potential adverse impacts of offshore wind projects on the whales and their habitat.

The strategy will use artificial intelligence and passive acoustic monitoring to determine where the whales are at a given time and to monitor the impacts of wind development on the animals.

It also calls for avoiding the granting of offshore wind leases in areas where major impacts to right whales may occur; establishing noise limits during construction; supporting research to develop new harm minimization technologies; and making it a priority to develop quieter technology and operating methods for offshore wind development.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Maryland offshore wind developer pulls out of state agreement, seeks new financial support

January 26, 2024 — Maryland’s nascent offshore wind energy industry suffered a major blow late Thursday when one of the two companies planning to install wind turbines off the coast of Ocean City announced that it was “repositioning” its plans, pulling out of its agreement with the state and seeking alternative financial arrangements to keep the project going.

Ørsted, the world’s largest developer of offshore wind, emphasized that it was still committed to building its project in federal waters, but said it was opting out of the agreement it had reached with the Maryland Public Service Commission for financial clean energy credits intended to help fund the development. The company said that while it would still seek permits for the proposed wind farm from the federal government, and would continue to develop construction and operations plans for Maryland, the current financial realties of the offshore wind industry made it impossible to continue under the present arrangement.

A statement Ørsted issued late Thursday said the projected revenue from the state’s clean energy credits, which cap what the company can charge ratepayers for its wind power, is “no longer commercially viable because of today’s challenging market conditions, including inflation, high interest rates and supply chain constraints.”

Through two separate but adjacent leases known as Skipjack 1 and Skipjack 2 that had won state approval, Ørsted is ticketed to provide 966 megawatts of wind energy beginning later this decade. A company executive said Ørsted was determined to work with state officials, potential investors and other stakeholders in an effort to find a better way to finance and save the project.

Read the full article at the Rhode Island Current

NEW YORK: Big turnout expected in New York offshore wind power auction

January 25, 2024 — Several offshore wind developers will likely bid in New York’s fourth offshore wind solicitation by the Thursday deadline, including units of European energy firms Orsted (ORSTED.CO), Equinor and BP (BP.L).

The development of the U.S. offshore wind industry took a major blow last year when companies working in several states said they could no longer complete projects profitably because of rocketing construction costs, higher interest rates and supply chain snags. The problems also hit the wind industry in other countries.

The development of the industry is key to meeting both U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. state-level clean energy targets. To prevent the projects from falling through, some state governments including New York have agreed to allow developers to rebid their projects at higher levels.

Orsted, Equinor and BP already have contracts to sell power in New York from offshore wind farms, but are expected to drop at least some of those old contracts in favor of new deals at higher power prices.

Read the full article at Reuters

NEW JERSEY: New Jersey approves two giant offshore wind power projects

January 25, 2024 — New Jersey’s utility regulator on Wednesday approved two offshore wind power projects with a combined capacity of 3,742-megawatts (MW) and whose backers include Invenergy and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA).

“Today’s action moves New Jersey closer to achieving Governor Phil Murphy’s goal of reaching 100 percent clean energy by 2035,” the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) said. The board said the two projects would bring about $6.8 billion in economic benefits to the state and provide enough energy to power around 1.8 million homes.

The offshore wind industry is expected to play a major role in helping several states and U.S. President Joe Biden meet goals to decarbonize the power grid and combat climate change.

But progress was slow last year after offshore developers canceled contracts to sell power in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey, and threatened to cancel agreements in other states, as soaring inflation, interest rate hikes and supply-chain problems increased project costs.

Read the full article at Reuters