Saving Seafood

NEW YORK: D.E.C. Asks Orsted for More Fish Info

July 18, 2019 — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has identified several of what it calls deficiencies — primarily regarding the effect on a variety of fish species — in Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind’s application to construct and operate a transmission cable connecting its proposed South Fork Wind Farm to the Long Island Power Authority substation in East Hampton, according to a letter sent to the State Public Service Commission on Friday.

A spokeswoman for the developer, however, said that requests from state agencies for additional information are to be expected in a review of multifaceted projects such as an offshore wind farm, and that the permitting process for the South Fork Wind Farm remains on schedule.

The D.E.C. letter summarizes its preliminary review of Orsted’s September 2018 application to the Public Service Commission requesting a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need under Article VII of the Public Service Law authorizing construction and operation of the transmission cable. The D.E.C. examined both Orsted’s preferred landing site, the ocean beach at the end of Beach Lane in Wainscott, and an alternative site, state-owned land at Hither Hills in Montauk. Both sites have sparked opposition from their respective communities.

The D.E.C.’s review is specific to the approximately 3.5 miles of export cable that would be buried under state waters and the portion that would be buried underground from the landing site to the substation. The agency examined threatened and endangered species of fish and wildlife, invasive species, freshwater and tidal wetlands, protection of waters and pollution control, and coastal erosion management in its review.

Read the full story at The East Hampton Star

Ørsted US Offshore Wind announces partnership with Rutgers University

May 17, 2019 — Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind will support academic research activities related to offshore wind at Rutgers University under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed Thursday.

Ørsted will make an initial contribution to Rutgers, followed by additional funding contingent upon being granted an OREC application by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

Ørsted submitted an application for its Ocean Wind project to the NJBPU in December 2018 to develop the first offshore wind farm in New Jersey. The announcement for the award is expected from the NJBPU in summer 2019.

“Rutgers University is a premier institution that can provide us with ongoing research that will help propel the New Jersey offshore wind industry forward,” Thomas Brostrøm, CEO of Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind and president of Ørsted North America, said in a statement. “We are very happy to partner with them as we progress with our Ocean Wind project.”

Read the full story at NJBiz

More Wind Farm Proposals Pitched to New York State

February 21, 2019 — New York State has received bids from four groups proposing new offshore wind farms to feed the state’s electrical grid, including a proposal from the companies behind the “South Fork Wind Farm,” which have proposed a new “Sunrise Wind” project that if selected would be sited over 30 miles east of Montauk Point.

The New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) closed bidding Thursday on the offshore wind power park, which it hopes will have a capacity of at least 800 megawatts of energy. It is expected that NYSERDA will select the winning bid in May.

According to a press release issued by New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., a total of 18 separate proposals for up to 1,200 megawatts of energy have been submitted.

In a press release issued Thursday, Ørsted and Eversource — the companies that purchased South Fork Wind Farm developer Deepwater Wind last fall — said its “Sunrise Wind” proposal had been “carefully planned to help achieve Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s nation-leading offshore wind and renewable energy goals, and to do so with the highest possible levels of public support.” While details of bids have not yet been released by the companies or by NYSERDA, in its press release Ørsted and Eversource confirmed “Sunrise Wind” would be in the 500-mile federal lease area it already controls in the same area that the South Fork Wind Farm is proposed.

Read the full story at Sag Harbor Express

Offshore Wind, Commercial Fishing Industries Partnering Up In Unusual Collaboration

January 18, 2019 — The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), a group representing fishermen from Maine to North Carolina formed specifically to interact with offshore wind companies, and developer Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind (formerly Deepwater Wind) said the partnership is the first-of-its-kind.

As development of offshore wind farms is underway off of Rhode Island and Massachusetts’ coasts, commercial fishermen have been in talks with developers to figure out the best way to build wind farms that sustain the fishing industry.

However, RODA and Orsted feel the way the industries have been engaging with one another has been inefficient.

“The fishermen are being pulled in a million directions and we’re very excited to have a more structured approach where we can get that input and give it back to the developers as well as to the government,” Annie Hawkins, executive director of RODA, said.

Jeff Grybowski, Co-CEO of Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind, agreed the new partnership will make it easier for the industries to communicate.

“It can often be difficult for a developer to find the right people to talk to because obviously fishermen are, they’re small businesses and some of them are big businesses, but there are lots of different people,” Grybowski said.

Hawkins added the goal is to have fewer, more productive meetings, however any recommendations that come out of them are nonbinding.

Commercial fishermen have raised multiple concerns about offshore wind farms, such as the layout of the turbines affecting their access to fishing grounds and ability to safely return to shore, and spinning turbines interfering with their radar navigation.

Read the full story at The Public’s Radio

New partnership develops with goal of improving talks between offshore wind, fishing

January 18, 2019 — The pool of organizations aiming to generate a mutually beneficial relationship between offshore wind and the commercial fishing industry grew on Thursday.

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) announced a partnership with Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind that is meant to improve communications between the fishing industry and offshore wind developers.

While the agreement was described as a “first-of-its-kind” partnership in the press release, it’s not the first pact agreed upon with the hopes of improving communication.

Last November, the New Bedford Port Authority announced an agreement with all offshore wind developers operating in the Massachusetts/Rhode Island market to serve as the designated Fisheries Representative of the commercial fishing industry to each of the development companies.

Orsted said this agreement would not affect its partnership with the Port Authority. It said it views this most recent announcement as an addition to its relationship with New Bedford.

The agreement between RODA and Orsted is unique in that RODA extends its representations from Maine to North Carolina.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

RODA and Ørsted Partner to Address Fisheries and Offshore Wind Coexistence

January 17, 2019 — BOSTON — The following was released by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance and Ørsted:

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) today announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind to improve communications between the commercial fishing industry and offshore wind energy developers.

This first-of-its-kind partnership will create an unprecedented opportunity for commercial fishermen to provide direct input to the wind energy industry on matters of significant interest to their businesses. Under this partnership, both industries will remain autonomous but provide a platform to move towards workable solutions. While non-binding in nature, it is RODA and Ørsted’s hope that discussions will prove beneficial to all parties involved.

“Partnering with Ørsted is a significant step forward as we look to strengthen our ongoing dialogue between commercial fishermen and offshore wind developers,” said RODA Executive Director Annie Hawkins. “RODA believes that we need to develop solutions for offshore wind energy and commercial fishing to coexist, and today’s announcement will support future sustainability for both industries.”

“We are proud to be the first offshore wind developer to partner with RODA, which is an important part to the future of offshore wind,” said CEO of Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind and President of Ørsted North America Thomas Brostrøm. “The fishing community must be considered as offshore wind development continues in the U.S. Through this partnership, we will be able to share our concerns in a productive way and develop practical solutions as we all seek to coexist and thrive for a better tomorrow.”

RODA is the only national commercial fishing organization that is purpose-built for interacting with the offshore wind industry to maintain sustainable fisheries. Based from Midcoast Maine to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, it also has the broadest geographic and gear-type range of any East Coast fishing industry membership organization active in offshore wind engagement.

The RODA Board of Directors consists of fishing industry representatives who bring over 200 years of combined operational and management experience, split across the range of federally and state-managed Atlantic fisheries. One of RODA’s primary goals is to ensure that the fishing industry’s input at-large is received, considered, and accommodated to the maximum extent possible in leasing, design, construction, and operations of new offshore developments.

“It is extremely vital that our nation’s fishermen are heard when offshore wind projects are being developed,” said RODA Chairman and Director of Sustainability at Atlantic Capes Fisheries Peter Hughes. “Ørsted has made it clear that they want to be partners with the fishing industry, and we are optimistic that our work with them will set a standard ensuring that fishermen have direct input into wind farm designs and ensuring that their concerns are fully embraced by developers.”

A core component of the partnership will be the creation of a joint industry task force to explore improved approaches to project siting, design, and operations. The two industries have already engaged in extensive communication regarding topics ranging from navigation concerns (including transit lanes and turbine layouts) and other impacts avoidance to identifying a mutual interest in developing transparent strategies for long-term mitigation. This new initiative will provide a more structured process for further collaboration between the two industries.

Ørsted and RODA strongly encourage other offshore wind energy developers and commercial fishermen to join this partnership in order to develop well-informed and enduring approaches to best practices and provide broad representation of the industries.

For more information on joining RODA as a fishing industry member, or joining the joint advisory panel as a member of the offshore wind development community, please contact info@rodafisheries.org.

About Ørsted

Ørsted delivers clean, renewable energy along the US Eastern Seaboard. Through Ørsted US Offshore Wind, the company operates Block Island Wind Farm, America’s first offshore wind farm, and has a comprehensive geographic coverage with the largest pipeline of development capacity, totaling over 8GW in seven states. It is jointly headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island and employs over 100 people.

As the world’s leading developer of offshore wind farms, Ørsted has installed 5.6GW offshore wind capacity in Europe and has a further 3.4GW under construction. It is Ørsted’s ambition to have installed a total offshore wind capacity of 15GW worldwide by 2025. The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs and operates offshore wind farms, bioenergy plants and innovative waste-to-energy solutions and provides smart energy products to its customers. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 6,000 people. Ørsted’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Ørsted). In 2017, the group’s revenue was DKK 59.5 billion (EUR 8.0 billion). For more information on Ørsted, visit https://orsted.com/ or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

About RODA

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) is a broad membership-based coalition of fishing industry associations and fishing companies with an interest in improving the compatibility of new offshore development with their businesses. It supports science- and evidence-based approaches to ocean resource management, including through the use of robust public-private partnerships and collaborative research. For industry communications, public relations, and media relations, RODA is partnering with Stove Boat Communications, a Washington, D.C.-based public affairs firm with expertise in oceans and fisheries issues. Together, RODA and Stove Boat will foster improved communication, ensure published materials are factual, and make information accessible to fishermen and the public

Media Contacts:

Ørsted North America

Lauren Burm, 617-309-8730

laubu@orsted.com

Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA)

Bob Vanasse, 202-333-2628

bob@stoveboat.com

 

Connecticut Regulators Approve Revolution Wind Power Contract

December 20, 2018 — Ørsted US Offshore Wind has received approval from Connecticut regulators of its 20-year power-purchase agreement for the Revolution Wind offshore wind farm.

Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority today approved Ørsted’s long-term power-purchase agreement with Eversource and United Illuminating, two Connecticut utilities, for the 200 megawatts of clean energy that Revolution Wind will deliver to Connecticut. That’s enough renewable energy to power 100,000 Connecticut homes and to displace six million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

“Connecticut is now an important player in America’s offshore wind industry,” said Jeffrey Grybowski, Co-CEO of Ørsted US Offshore Wind. “We’re proud to be building the state’s first offshore wind farm. We’re ready to make major investments in our local workforce and in the Port of New London to ramp up this project.”

With the power contract now finalized, Ørsted will accelerate development work on Revolution Wind. Offshore installation work on Revolution Wind will begin in 2022, with the project in operations in 2023. Offshore oceanographic and geophysical survey work already began in 2018.

Deepwater Wind – now Ørsted US Offshore Wind – committed to investing at least $15 million in the Port of New London to allow substantial aspects of Revolution Wind to be constructed in New London. The company also plans to open a development office in New London and use a Connecticut-based boat builder to construct one for the project’s crew transfer vessels in Connecticut. The project is expected to create over 1,400 direct, indirect and induced jobs.

Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection selected Ørsted US Offshore Wind (then Deepwater Wind)’s Revolution Wind in June in the state’s first procurement for offshore wind energy.

Revolution Wind, located in federal waters roughly halfway between Montauk, N.Y., and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., is designed to serve as regional energy center. Rhode Island separately selected 400MW from Revolution Wind to power that state.

Read the full story at Wind Business Intelligence

MASSACHUSETTS: Liasion picked for wind farms, fishermen

November 21, 2018 — The New Bedford Port Authority will serve as the designated fisheries representative for offshore wind developers in the Rhode Island and Massachusetts markets.

The Port of New Bedford announced the agreement Tuesday, saying the authority will fill a role that’s required under federal guidelines issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

The port authority will serve as the fishing community’s primary point of contact for communicating project-related concerns to the developers, port officials said.

Vineyard Wind and Orsted are pursuing commercial energy projects in the waters off Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

According to the port authority, it will act as a clearinghouse for information, facilitate talks between fishermen and developers, and advocate for ways to mitigate impacts on commercial fishing from wind turbines.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

 

MASSACHUSETTS: Bay State Wind to host open house

November 19, 2018 — Bay State Wind will host an open house on Wednesday, Dec. 5, to hear from the public about the development of an offshore wind project off the southern Massachusetts coast, according to a press release. The open house will run from 4 to 6 pm at the Loft Restaurant, with a brief presentation about the project at 4:30 pm. Guests will hear about the status of the project and offshore wind in the region from Orsted staff and have a chance to discuss the environmental, economic, and technical issues, and to visit an offshore wind farm through a virtual reality experience, as well as to voice their opinion about Bay State Wind’s project.

Read the full story at The MV Times

It’s Official, Orsted Acquires Deepwater Wind

November 12, 2018 — Orsted, Denmark’s largest energy company and the world’s largest offshore wind developer, has completed the acquisition of Deepwater Wind from the D.E. Shaw Group. The $510 million transaction was announced last month.

As a combined organization, Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind becomes the leading American offshore wind platform, with a goal of delivering renewable energy to the eight states on the East Coast from Massachusetts to Virginia that have committed to a combined 10 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030.

The acquisition comes as Deepwater Wind’s proposed South Fork Wind Farm, to be constructed approximately 35 miles from Montauk, is undergoing review by federal and state agencies, and the East Hampton Town Board and trustees ponder whether to grant easements or leases allowing the 15-turbine wind farm’s transmission cable to make landfall at the ocean beach at the end of Beach Lane in Wainscott, the company’s preferred site. From there it would be buried along a route to the Long Island Power Authority substation near Cove Hollow Road in East Hampton.

Read the full story at the East Hampton Star