Vineyard Wind Archives - Saving Seafood

Don’t endanger aquatic ecosystems in the name of solving climate change

June 20, 2022 — In New England, too, we are being told that jeopardizing fishery-supporting ecosystems is the price we must pay to solve climate change. Here, the argument is coming from offshore wind proponents, who are working hand-in-glove with the Biden administration to set a course to install 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030 — from a baseline of almost zero in just eight years — and 110 gigawatts by 2050, with most of the initial development taking place off New England and the mid-Atlantic and limited environmental review taking place prior to the issuance of leases.

What would this scale of development look like? With today’s technology, 110 gigawatts would be almost 8,500 turbines — 137 times the size of the Vineyard Wind facility planned for south of Cape Cod. It would mean near-continuous construction on the continental shelf for three decades. While no one knows what the ecological impacts of such construction might be (and that’s precisely our point), evidence suggests they may include alterations of the acoustic and sensory environment, electromagnetic fields, and current and wind patterns, affecting a variety of species whose survival depends on these aspects of the underwater world.

Offshore wind off New England and mining in the Bristol Bay watershed are linked by more than just spurious ultimatums invoking climate catastrophe as the inevitable consequence of keeping these wild places wild. It also happens that offshore wind, which requires hundreds of miles of electrical cables measuring up to 11 inches in diameter, is the most copper-intensive of all renewable energy technologies. Every mile of cable laid across the ocean floor will spur greater pressure to mine copper in precious, irreplaceable places like Bristol Bay.

Read the full op-ed at The Boston Globe

Right whale defenders question energy industry donations

April 27, 2022 — A group opposing wind projects off the coast of Massachusetts released a report Tuesday that documents contributions from wind energy developers to environmental groups in the state, donations that the authors of the report say cast questions on the ability of groups to analyze the impacts that wind projects have on the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale.

The report, released by the Save Right Whales Coalition, catalogs $4.2 million between wind developers like Vineyard Wind, Bay State Wind, and Orsted to environmental groups in Massachusetts such as the Environmental League of Massachusetts, New England Aquarium, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

The flow of money, coalition member Lisa Linowes said, raised a “red flag” for potential conflicts of interest when it comes to investigating the environmental impacts of offshore wind development in places where the North Atlantic Right Whale resides. The whale is one of the most endangered large whale species in the world, according to NOAA Fisheries.

“The public has come to trust the word of these organizations, that when they say wind turbines can be safely sited within and near the waters where the right whale lives, breeds, feeds, that they will be safe,” Linowes said. “Based on their public statements and based on the donations … we should question the priorities of these organizations.”

U.S. Wind Energy Is (Finally) Venturing Offshore

April 4, 2022 — Capturing offshore wind in the U.S. has long been an uphill battle, with various stumbling blocks in the terrain. Objections from fisheries, skepticism from conservationists and tenuous support from tourism have all stalled development in the past decade. That is, until May of 2021, when the U.S. Department of the Interior approved construction of a sprawling wind facility several miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

The project marks the first large-scale offshore wind undertaking in the U.S., and includes 62 turbines that will power more than 400,000 homes and businesses. But it almost didn’t happen. Under the Trump administration, the project’s approval halted, while broader national momentum behind alternative energy solutions slowed. The country’s only other offshore wind facility, with just five turbines spinning off the coast of Rhode Island since 2016, looked like it would not have any company for years. That site, Block Island Wind Farm, produces 30 megawatts, or enough energy to power up to 17,000 homes. After President Joe Biden took office, however, he promised a 1,000-fold increase in offshore wind energy production in the U.S. by 2030. Approving the ambitious Vineyard Wind project marks the first big step.

U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) researchers still puzzle over how turbines in oceans affect birds and fish. They recently started trying to assess the impact through the Realtime Opportunity for Development Environmental Observations  project, which conducted research when the foundation work began on Block Island in 2015. The researchers will report on other offshore wind projects as operations begin in the next several years. So far, they’ve found that during the noisy pile-driving phase of construction, the abundance of winter flounder decreased. However, other kinds of flatfish were not significantly impacted. The researchers also noted that almost immediately, mussels, sea stars and anemones began covering the submerged turbines. Future studies will add data on marine life impact and likely inform industry approaches.

Read the full story at Discover Magazine

New England council concerned with offshore wind, aquaculture impact on fish habitat

February 23, 2022 — Concern over the impact of offshore wind energy development – and potentially aquaculture in federal waters – has the New England Fishery Management Council preparing a ‘Habitat Area of Particular Concern’ (HAPC) in southern New England to focus on cod, scallops and other species that rely on essential fish habitat south of Cape Cod.

During its Feb. 1-3 meetings the council initiated a framework adjustment to develop the new HAPC, with a goal of having it ready in April.

According to a council summary, HAPCs “emphasize the importance of specific areas and habitat features; and strengthen the basis for conservation recommendations designed to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts on habitat.”

With Vineyard Wind undertaking construction of it 800-megawatt project and neighboring leaseholders moving forward, offshore wind is the council’s most immediate concern.

Longer term is the potential for offshore aquaculture, with some companies exploring how to raise Atlantic salmon and other species off southern New England.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

MASSACHUSETTS: Jennifer Downing Named First Executive Director of the New Bedford Ocean Cluster

February 7, 2022 — The following was released by the New Bedford Ocean Cluster:

(New Bedford, MA) The Board of Directors of the newly established New Bedford Ocean Cluster (NBOC) is pleased to announce that Jennifer Downing of Acushnet will lead the organization as its first executive director. She brings over 20 years of nonprofit experience in the areas of local economic development, environmental sustainability, and leadership development to the NBOC.

The NBOC’s mission is to leverage New Bedford’s coastal position, marine knowledge base, and landside capacity to drive employment and wealth creation for New Bedford residents. Working collaboratively with a range of private sector, public sector, and academic partners, the NBOC will work to establish New Bedford as the leading ocean economy on the East Coast through a strategic focus on four interrelated industry pillars: commercial fishing & processing, aquaculture, offshore renewable energy, and innovation & technology.

“The entire NBOC Board is excited to have Jen lead our team,” John Bullard, President of the NBOC Board of Directors said recently announcing her appointment. “Because of her experience, her leadership skills and her passion for New Bedford she is already off to a very fast start mobilizing resources and gathering people together to seize the opportunity to create jobs around the possibilities that are before us in the blue economy. To be successful we need to bring a lot of people together, discover common objectives, work out our differences and move forward with a goal of increasing economic opportunities for all. Jen has the ability to help us do that.”

In her position, Downing will be responsible for setting up the operational needs of the NBOC, working with local maritime stakeholders to define and advance economic development priorities, and managing cluster activity. A primary focus of the NBOC will be to foster a maritime business network that can serve as both a convener and clearinghouse for business-to-business interaction and commercial collaboration. The goal is to attract investment to New Bedford and its Port, support the formation and growth of ocean economy businesses, and develop strategies to create more value from our ocean resources including fish, aquaculture, and wind.

“Jen is the ideal person to lead the New Bedford Ocean Cluster as it seeks to capitalize on the maritime opportunities that lie ahead for New Bedford. Her track record of facilitating teamwork, coupled with her understanding of New Bedford’s competitive advantages, will put the Ocean Cluster in a strong position to succeed,” Mayor Jon Mitchell, said.

In late 2021, the NBOC launched the Act Local program in partnership with Vineyard Wind and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to connect Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier 1 companies with local businesses interested and able to participate in the offshore wind industry supply chain. The Act Local Program is an innovative and streamlined approach to matchmaking and is the first of its kind in the U.S. offshore wind industry. The program is part of Vineyard Wind’s commitment to Look Local First in support of its Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm.

“The NBOC is going to play a critical role in making sure that local businesses become part of the fabric of the growing offshore wind industry,” said Vineyard Wind’s Manager of Workforce & Supply Chain Development, Jennifer Cullen. “With her impressive experience, Jennifer is ideally positioned to lead the organization and ensure that it succeeds in its mission.”

Most recently, Downing served as the vice president of community engagement at the Buzzards Bay Coalition where she oversaw the organization’s fundraising, marketing & communications, and public engagement programs and events. Prior to that, she served as the executive director of Leadership Southcoast (LSC). At LSC, Downing introduced new curriculum and formats that strengthened the program, expanded, and diversified enrollment, and launched the organization’s first alumni engagement strategy.

Downing spent more than a decade in philanthropy working at the Garfield Foundation, a private foundation that awarded more than $2 million nationally to nonprofits addressing complex social and environmental problems through collaborative network approaches. She was responsible for both managing the operations of the foundation and serving as program officer for a place-based grant portfolio supporting economic and community revitalization projects in Greater New Bedford.

That experience sparked Downing’s interest in advancing collaborative leadership and cross-sector collaborative processes and prompted her to focus her graduate studies on the subject. In 2018, she received the Brian Webb Award for Outstanding Master of Arts Thesis by Union Institute & University for her paper, Action Learning to Develop Collaborative Capacity for Social Change.

“I’m really excited about joining the New Bedford Ocean Cluster,” Downing said. “A consistent thread running through my career has been a deep interest in advancing collaborative, network approaches locally to strengthen and revitalize our community. The ocean cluster ideology embodies this approach, and it is an honor to have the opportunity to leverage my background and skills to develop and lead such a model in New Bedford to advance its ocean economy.”

In 2020, Downing was honored as a recipient of the John S. Brayton Community Service Award by the One South Coast Chamber of Commerce. She is currently the Chair of the Acushnet School Committee and has served on numerous nonprofit boards and committees, such as the United Way of Greater New Bedford Board of Directors, the New Bedford Regeneration Committee, the SouthCoast Neighbors United Board of Directors, the Civic & Political Leadership Working Group for the Women’s Fund’s Task Force on Pathways for Women to a Living Wage, and the YWCA of Southeastern Massachusetts’ Building Diverse Boards and Commissions Working Group.

She holds a BFA from Marymount Manhattan College in New York City and an MA in Leadership, Public Policy and Social Issues from Union Institute & University. She is a proud 2009 graduate of Leadership SouthCoast and 2012 PLACES (Professionals Learning About Community, Equity & Sustainability) Fellow with The Funders Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities.

You can find more information about the NBOC on the organization’s website: www.newbedfordoceancluster.org

Lawsuit challenges Vineyard Wind approval

February 1, 2022 — A lawsuit challenging the federal approval of the nation’s first industrial-scale offshore wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts raises questions about the haste with which the project was approved and the fallout it will have on endangered right whales and the fishing industry.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday in federal court in Washington, DC, by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, which represents fishing interests, also highlights the dramatic scale of the wind farm and questions whether taxpayers were shortchanged by the leases the federal government negotiated with the developer, Vineyard Wind.

The lawsuit is one of a handful challenging the project on the grounds that several environmental statutes were violated in the Biden administration’s rush to kickstart the offshore wind industry.

Vineyard Wind filed its construction and operations plan initially in 2017. The Trump administration decided to extend its review indefinitely in 2019 to take into account the many offshore wind farms planned up and down the coast.

Read the full story at CommonWealth Magazine

Fishing advocates sue over federal approvals for Vineyard Wind

February 1, 2022 — The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance filed a lawsuit Monday against federal agencies for the Interior Department’s approval of the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind offshore energy project off southern New England, alleging the government massively failed its responsibility to follow U.S. environmental and maritime laws.

“In its haste to implement a massive new program to generate electrical energy by constructing thousands of turbine towers offshore the eastern seaboard on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf and laying hundreds of miles of high-tension electrical cables undersea, the United States has shortcut the statutory and regulatory requirements that were enacted to protect our nation’s environmental and natural resources, its industries, and its people,” declares a preamble in the lawsuit in the District of Columbia federal court.

RODA, a coalition of fishing communities and industry groups, filed a notice of intent to sue Oct. 19 over its concerns but got no reply from the agencies, said Anne Hawkins, the group’s executive director.

“The fishing industry supports strong action on climate change, but not at the expense of the ocean, its inhabitants, and sustainable domestic seafood,” Hawkins said in announcing the lawsuit. “The decisions on this project didn’t balance ocean resource conservation and management and must not set a precedent for the enormous ‘pipeline of projects’ the government plans to facilitate in the near term. So we had no alternative to filing suit.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Responsible Offshore Development Alliance Files Complaint in Vineyard Wind Lawsuit

January 31, 2022 — The following was released by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance:

Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), a broad membership-based coalition of fishing industry associations and fishing companies, filed suit today challenging the Interior Department’s approval of a massive offshore wind project to be constructed on a 65,000-acre tract in federal waters south of Martha’s Vineyard. The suit, filed in U.S. district court for the District of Columbia, names the U.S. Interior Department and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, among others. The suit alleges that government agencies violated numerous environmental protection statutes in authorizing the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind energy project.

Annie Hawkins, Executive Director of RODA, stated: “In its haste to implement a massive new program to generate electrical energy by constructing thousands of turbine towers offshore the eastern seaboard on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf and laying hundreds of miles of high-tension electrical cables undersea, the United States has shortcut the statutory and regulatory requirements that were enacted to protect our nation’s environmental and natural resources, its industries, and its people.” She added, “The fishing industry supports strong action on climate change, but not at the expense of the ocean, its inhabitants, and sustainable domestic seafood.”

On October 19, 2021, RODA issued the government agencies a 60-day Notice of its Intent to Sue if they did not comply with the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and other federal environmental statutes. “The Alliance received no reply, and the environmental violations were not remedied,” Hawkins stated. “The decisions on this project didn’t balance ocean resource conservation and management, and must not set a precedent for the enormous “pipeline of projects” the government plans to facilitate in the near term. So we had no alternative to filing suit.”

Final approval for South Fork Wind project

January 21, 2022 — The South Fork Wind energy project 35 miles east of Montauk, N.Y., won final approval Jan. 19 to begin construction, lining it up to be the second offshore wind turbine array in federal waters.

The federal Bureau of Offshore Energy Management signed off on the construction and operations plan for South Fork, setting out a 1-nautical mile spacing between a dozen 11-megawatt Siemens-Gamesa turbines and some areas set aside in the federal lease area to preserve bottom habitat for marine species.

Installing monopile foundations and turbines is scheduled for summer 2023. The 132 MW project by developers Ørsted and Eversource is seen as a keystone by New York State energy planners for bringing future power to Long Island – potentially for 70,000 homes by the end of 2023 – as they look to even bigger projects offshore to feed the New York City metro area.

“This milestone underscores the tremendous opportunity we have to create a new industry from the ground up to drive our green energy economy, deliver clean power to millions of homes and create good jobs across the state,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement after the BOEM approval. “As we tackle climate change head on and transition to a clean economy, these are the projects that will power our future.”

BOEM and wind developers continue to face fierce resistance from the Northeast commercial fishing industry. In December the Texas Public Policy Institute filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of fishermen in New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, charging that BOEM bypassed requirements for environmental review when it approved the construction and operations plan for Vineyard Wind, the first wind project in federal waters to be built east of the South Fork tract.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Construction to begin soon on new US offshore wind farm

January 20, 2022 — Construction will soon begin on the second commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project to gain approval in the United States, the developers said.

The U.S. Department of the Interior approved it in November, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued its approval letter for the constructions and operations plan Tuesday, a major step in the federal process before construction can start.

Orsted, a Danish energy company, is developing the South Fork Wind project with utility Eversource off the coasts of New York and Rhode Island. They now expect the work onshore to begin by early February and offshore next year for as many as 12 turbines.

President Joe Biden has set a goal to install 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030, generating enough electricity to power more than 10 million homes. In November, work began on the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the United States, the Vineyard Wind 1 project off the coast of Massachusetts.

Read the full story from the AP at ABC News