Saving Seafood

Offshore wind power impact on right whales uncertain, says National Academies study

November 13, 2023 — Wind energy projects under construction off southern New England could have effects on the endangered North Atlantic right whale and ocean ecosystem in the Nantucket Shoals region. But it is difficult to determine how those impacts are different from ongoing climate change and other ecosystem trends, according to a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

“The report recommends further study and monitoring of the oceanography and ecology of the Nantucket Shoals region to fully understand the impact of future wind farms,” according to a summary from the academies.

Right whales have increased their use of Nantucket Shoals waters in recent years, and some scientists have recommended setting buffer areas around wind energy development areas to ensure future turbine operations don’t alter the local ocean ecosystem.

The National Academies study was commissioned by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to address those concerns. The resulting 106-page paper released Oct. 13 concludes that much more detailed study and modeling is required to predict how operating massive wind turbines may change wind and water currents, and food available for whales.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

OREGON: Oregon Tribes declare opposition to wind energy areas

November 13, 2023 — Oregon Indian tribes this week said that they oppose two draft wind energy areas off the state’s coast, over their concerns about how fisheries and cultural resources could be affected.

In a statement the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians said it recently passed a unanimous resolution expressing the opposition, meeting a deadline for comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

After meetings with BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein, “it was apparent to the Tribe that its concerns regarding offshore wind development’s impacts to fisheries and cultural resources were not going to be addressed in a meaningful way,” Tribal Council Chair Brad Kneaper said in a statement Nov. 8. “We recognize that all energy development has impacts and BOEM has failed to provide assurance that wind energy development will do good and not harm the Tribe, its members, and the greater coastal community.”

The council said its comments to BOEM have included requests that wind energy areas be at least 12 nautical miles off the continental shelf “to preserve “important, cultural viewsheds” and “avoid areas critical to resident and migratory species, including important areas for fishing.”

Read the full article at WorkBoat

Where is glauconite, the seafloor mineral challenging offshore wind?

November 13, 2023 — As offshore wind developers run into glauconite, a mineral that presents challenges for wind turbine installation, the U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a monthslong study to identify exactly where glauconite is already known to be.

The study began in early summer, after some offshore wind developers found glauconite on parts of the seafloor they’ve leased for wind farms — a series of discoveries that The Light reported on last month. Government geologists will focus on a variety of seafloor features that might challenge renewable energy infrastructure, including shallow pockets of natural gas and underwater landslides as well as glauconite.

In the coming months, scientists will review data from the last wide-scale effort to sample the U.S. Atlantic seafloor for glauconite — which happened in the 1960s and 1970s.

“This is a study that doesn’t involve collecting new data,” said Laura Brothers, a marine geologist with the Geological Survey, in an interview with The Light. “We’re going to be combing through all the publicly available and trusted sources of data regarding things that can be hazardous for infrastructure placement and development offshore.”

The study will also examine glauconite deposits on land. “We’ll look at where glauconite is known to occur onshore and what layers of rocks are known to have it,” Brothers said, “to get the best idea we can about where it can be offshore. It’s kind of the best we can do without collecting a substantial amount of new data.”

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

Fishing industry in ‘fight of our lives’ over offshore wind

November 10, 2023 — The drive to develop U.S. offshore wind industry is growing along the West Coast, and fishermen should pay close attention to the political and legal battles already ongoing in the Atlantic states, a panel of experienced activists said at the Pacific Marine Expo Thursday in Seattle.

“I’ve been fighting offshore wind since 2003,” said Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association. In those early years, the first proposed projects “died because of the cost,” she said.

Today, “there are a multitude of projects going on,” Brady said, as a screen flashed map graphics showing about 30 proposed wind turbine developments from the Gulf of Maine to the Carolinas, and now more off California and Oregon.

California fishermen were later observers to what is now a concerted push by federal and state governments, but now they too are alarmed, said Jeremiah O’Brien, vice president of the Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Association.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

New England lobstermen threaten to sue feds over planned Massachusetts fishing closure

November 10, 2023 — New England lobstermen are threatening to sue a federal agency planning to make fishing on Massachusetts waters even more challenging from February until May, when they already face restrictions on where they are allowed to tend to their livelihood.

NOAA Fisheries is looking to permanently add a wedge between state and federal waters to an existing closure that stretches roughly 9,000 square miles off the Massachusetts coast, a measure feds have put in place to preserve the North Atlantic right whale.

An emergency rule prohibited trap and pot fishery buoy lines on the wedge during the past two years, but the feds are looking to make the zone permanent and have the backing of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.

The proposed permanent expansion to the Massachusetts Restricted Area has caught lobstermen by surprise.

Dustin Delano, chief operating officer of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, took exception to the “recklessness” of the proposal after an amendment was included in this year’s $1.7 trillion federal spending bill that looked to delay protections for the North Atlantic right whale by six years.

Read the full article at Boston Herald

Senator Markey Announces Legislation to Bolster Offshore Wind Workforce Training

November 8, 2023 — Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety and a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, reintroduced the Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act, legislation that would support offshore wind workforce development that meets the needs of the offshore wind and maritime industry through a new grant program. More specifically, the Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act would help create thousands of good-paying union jobs in coastal communities through apprenticeship programs, maritime centers of excellence, and institutions of higher education.

The legislation would also help the Biden administration achieve its goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. First, the Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act would direct the Secretary of Labor to identify the offshore wind industry’s workforce needs by engaging with the offshore wind industry, maritime industry, eligible entities, local governments, ports, and nonprofit organizations. Based on this workforce gap analysis, the Secretary of Labor would establish a grant program in consultation with the Secretary of Energy to support the training of both new and current workers, provide tuition financing, and support apprenticeship programs.

“Billions of dollars in clean energy investments are being unlocked from the Inflation Reduction Act, including my Offshore Wind American Manufacturing Act. We must ensure that our offshore wind workforce is ready,” said Senator Markey. “The Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act would prepare workers with the skills and training needed to supercharge our grid with clean energy powered by offshore wind. I will continue to push for the winds of change to blow off the shores of Massachusetts and other coastal communities throughout the nation so that our workers can benefit from this clean energy force.”

“There is much work to be done to bring offshore wind online effectively and efficiently — that includes ensuring we have access to talent,” said Senator Whitehouse. “Our legislation will invest in job training programs to prepare the next generation of workers to fill well-paying jobs that help meet America’s offshore wind goals.”

“I’m proud that Virginia is developing the largest offshore wind project in the country, creating thousands of good-paying jobs,” said Senator Kaine. “This legislation will help us train the workforce we need to fill those jobs and expand economic growth. I will continue to do all that I can to help workers access job training programs and to create good-paying jobs in the Commonwealth.”

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com

Fallout as Ørsted unwinds Ocean Wind 1 project

November 7, 2023 — After dropping its flagship U.S. project Ocean Wind, Ørsted is seeking to pull back $300 million in obligations to New Jersey.

Once its board of directors had decided to kill the 1,100-megawatt plan on Oct. 31, the next day Ørsted notified the state Board of Public Utilities that it wants to get back a $100 million guarantee that it would complete the project. The company is also pulling back on $200 million it had planned to invest with steel fabricator EEW for its monopile foundation manufacturing plan in Paulsboro, N.J.

Ørsted and state officials signed off on those promises just weeks before the surprise announcement that Ocean Wind 1 and 2 would not be built – a move that Ørsted CEO Mads Nipper said would address more than 70 percent of the company’s recent $2.3 billion writedown of its assets in the beleaguered U.S. offshore wind market.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Orsted wants out of $300M forfeiture for scrapped New Jersey offshore wind farms

November 7, 2023 — Offshore wind power company Orsted is trying to get out of a $300 million guarantee it agreed to pay New Jersey in the event it failed to build its first wind farm off the state’s coast.

Last Tuesday, the Danish firm scrapped its Ocean Wind I and II projects in southern New Jersey, saying the projects were no longer financially feasible. The company cited supply chain issues, inflation and a failure to gain enough government tax credits.

The next day, Orsted wrote to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, saying it was withdrawing from an agreement it signed with the state under which it would forfeit the money if it did not build Ocean Wind I.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

BOEM Seeks Input to Inform Environmental Analysis for Additional Site Assessment Activities on Proposed Wind Energy Project Offshore Massachusetts

November 7, 2023 — The following was released by the BOEM:

On Nov. 7, BOEM will publish a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to consider additional site assessment activities submitted via an amendment by Beacon Wind in March 2023 that were not covered under its Site Assessment Plan (SAP) for its lease (OCS-A 0520) that BOEM approved on Sept. 24, 2021. The original SAP and EA can be found on BOEM’s webpage.

The EA will analyze the environmental impacts of site assessment and foundation testing activities in the lease area, as described by Beacon Wind’s amendment.

The publication of the NOI in the Federal Register on Nov. 7, 2023, opens a 30-day public comment period that ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 7, 2023.

BOEM seeks public input on important environmental issues and the identification of reasonable alternatives that should be considered in the EA.

You may submit comments by either of the following methods:

  • Through the regulations.gov web portal: Navigate to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket No. BOEM-2023-062 to submit public comments and view supporting and related materials available for this notice.  Click on the “Comment” button below the document link.  Enter your information and comment, then click “Submit Comment”; or
  • By U.S. Postal Service or other delivery service: Send your comments and information to the following address: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, Mail Stop VAM-OREP, Sterling, VA 20166.

The public comment period for the NOI will help identify what BOEM may consider as part of its environmental assessment of Beacon Wind’s SAP. The comments received will help BOEM determine the important resources and issues, impact-producing factors, reasonable alternatives, and potential mitigating measures that should be analyzed in the EA. Following the comment period, BOEM will review the comments to include information for consideration in the Beacon Wind Draft EA.

See more on BOEM’s website.

 

Seasonal Resident Files Vineyard Wind Appeal

November 7, 2023 — A seasonal Edgartown resident is challenging a federal court’s ruling on his lawsuit that tried to halt Vineyard Wind, the offshore wind energy development in construction south of the Island.

Thomas Melone, who owns a home on the Vineyard and is the president of a solar energy company, filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the National Marine Fisheries Service, claiming several agencies were violating the Endangered Species Act when they approved the 62 turbines. That case was dismissed by U.S. District Court judge Indira Talwani in August.

On Monday, Mr. Melone filed a brief with the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals, claiming the National Marine Fisheries Service did not meet all of the federal requirements when it approved Vineyard Wind, and that some of its interpretations of statutes are “unreasonable.” In his brief, he also contended the U.S. District Court erroneously allowed Vineyard Wind to be involved in his lawsuit.

Read the full article at the Vineyard Gazzette