Saving Seafood

Federal agencies, Vineyard Wind at odds over wind farm setup

August 2, 2019 — All three federal agencies that weighed in on Vineyard Wind’s construction and operations plan have coalesced around the east-to-west orientation of the 84 wind turbines.

The three agencies are supporting a distance of at least 1 mile between the turbines, which is a marked contrast to the company’s diagonal layout plan with less space between, according to the Times review of 349 public comments on the draft environmental impact statement.

National Marine Fisheries Service Regional Administrator Michael Pentony faults the draft statement with failing to fully analyze current data showing “clear patterns of east-west orientation of fishing activity throughout much of the lease area.”

While an east-to-west turbine layout “would not fully eliminate impacts to fishing operations, available information suggests impacts would be minimized for some fishing vessels, allowing them to continue to fish the area and thus reducing the negative economic impacts they incur,” Pentony said.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Rhode Island delegation raises concerns with speed of offshore wind review

July 31, 2019 — If the nation’s first major offshore wind farm doesn’t get off the ground, there will be plenty of finger-pointing to go around.

Some may be pointed at Rhode Island’s congressional delegation.

The state’s two senators and two representatives sent a letter on July 12 to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, expressing concerns about how the federal agency has handled the review of offshore wind development. In particular, they want BOEM to be more sensitive to potential conflicts with fishermen and marine life. (They also want the agency to open a regional office in Rhode Island.)

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

Delay From Environmental Regulators Blows Vineyard Wind Off Course

July 31, 2019 — Construction of the $2.8 billion Vineyard Wind, the nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm, is on hold as developers wait for an environmental impact statement from federal regulators.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management does not technically have to submit the impact statement until early next year, but it was expected in mid-July, and regulators gave no reason for the delay.

An investigation by Reuters found that two other federal agencies — the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Marine Fisheries Service — refused to sign off on the project’s design, citing concerns over its impact on commercial fishing.

On Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker met with Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt in Washington, D.C., to urge movement on the project.

Read the full story at WBUR

Federal fisheries, energy agencies negotiate deadlock over Vineyard Wind

July 31, 2019 — Gov. Charlie Baker and other Massachusetts politicians pushed federal officials to break a deadlock over the environmental review of the Vineyard Wind offshore energy project, amid the developer’s warnings it needs an approval by the end of August.

But advocates for the commercial fishing industry say the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has failed to address issues raised by the NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office in Gloucester, Mass.

Baker met Monday in Washington, D.C., with Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to urge progress on issuing a final environmental impact statement for the 84-turbine, 800-megawatt wind array planned on a federal lease about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.

“I thought our meeting was a good one,” Baker told radio station WBUR Tuesday. “Our goal is to get as much clarity as possible and put together a plan because we really want this project to happen.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Gov. Charlie Baker is in Washington D. C. to push for the wind farm off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard

July 30, 2019 — Governor Charlie Baker is in Washington D. C. Monday for talks with key White House officials to discuss plans to install a long-anticipated wind farm proposed in Martha’s Vineyard.

“Our goal is going to be to get as much clarity as we can over the next several days and then work with Vineyard Wind to put together a cure plan because we really want this project to happen.”

His meeting will be with the Interior Secretary, David Bernhardt, who oversees the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Construction of the wind farm is scheduled to begin Dec. 19.

Read the full story at MassLive

MASSACHUSETTS: Baker eyeing ‘cure plan’ for Vineyard Wind

July 30, 2019 — After a “really productive and substantive” meeting with new U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker said his administration will be working with Vineyard Wind to address the federal government’s concerns with the project in line to be the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind development.

The federal government injected a level of uncertainty into Vineyard Wind, a $2.8 billion, 800-megawatt offshore wind project planned for the waters off Martha’s Vineyard, earlier this month when the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management notified project officials that the government was “not yet prepared” to issue a final environmental impact statement, which had been expected this month.

“What I was really seeking was some clarity so that we can work with Vineyard Wind and with our colleagues in the Congressional delegation and others to cure whatever the concerns are,” Baker said Monday afternoon after his meeting with Bernhardt and before returning to D.C. for more meetings. He added, “Our goal is going to be to get as much clarity as we can over the next several days and then work with Vineyard Wind to put together a cure plan, because we really want this project to happen.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

First big U.S. offshore wind project hits snag due to fishing-industry concerns

July 29, 2019 — Trump administration infighting is holding up approval of the first major U.S. offshore wind energy project, with agencies sparring over whether the proposal does enough to protect the fishing industry, according to interviews and agency documents.

The delays are a setback to President Donald Trump’s efforts to fast-track big energy infrastructure projects and could threaten the administration’s plans to launch a promising new domestic industry.

How the problem is resolved will shape the regulatory blueprint for a growing list of offshore wind developers seeking to tap in to rising U.S. demand for renewable energy, but who face objections from fishermen worried the turbines will affect commercial species or make fishing more difficult.

The Trump administration has sought to fire up development of the nascent offshore wind industry by streamlining permitting and carving out areas off the coast for leasing – part of its policy to boost domestic energy production and jobs.

Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid Inc (AGR.N), was scheduled to begin construction this year 14 miles (23 km) off the coast of Massachusetts to power more than 400,000 homes by 2021 – making it the first large-scale offshore wind development in the United States.

Read the full story at Reuters

You Asked, We Answered: Are Offshore Wind Developers Responsible For Fishing Gear Damaged In A Wind Farm?

July 26, 2019 — Our first offshore wind question is from Samual Freeman: Why are offshore wind developers allowed to destroy commercial fishing gear and not be responsible for the cost to find and replace this? 

So, there’s a lot going on in this question. Fishermen are worried that wind farms are going to bull-doze their way into their territory and destroy their livelihoods. But here’s what we know: if a fisherman can prove that gear is damaged as the result of a wind farm, the wind developer will be responsible for compensating the fisherman for the cost of the gear and any potential lost income.

Every developer has a slightly different process in how they handle these claims. But in the end, if a fisherman’s claim is found to be valid, the developer must pay for the damage. It’s the law.

What else are wind developers doing to compensate fishermen for any potential lost or damaged gear?

So, Vineyard Wind — which is expected to build the country’s first large scale offshore wind farm — has setup a compensation plan for Rhode Island and Massachusetts fishermen which includes a trust fund to pay them for any unexpected expenses like damaged fishing gear.

Fishermen say the fund doesn’t have enough money in it to truly compensate fishermen in the event of an accident. But Vineyard Wind has told me there will be no financial limits on valid loss gear claims…even if it exceeds the trust fund amount.

Read the full story at The Public’s Radio

Official: Congress members involved in Vineyard Wind push

July 24, 2019 — Members of Congress have become involved in trying to move Vineyard Wind forward, a top Baker administration official said Tuesday as lobbying intensifies to advance what state officials hope will be the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project.

Energy and Environmental Affairs Undersecretary Patrick Woodcock told members of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Board Tuesday about the involvement of members of Congress since the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management indicated it would not decide on a key project approval this month, as anticipated.

The 800-megawatt project’s future is pertinent to the center because the project has a lease with the MCEC in New Bedford, Woodcock said.

Read the full story at the Worcester Business Journal

Vineyard Wind wants federal review within 6 weeks

July 19, 2019 — Vineyard Wind has given the federal agency in charge of permits for its offshore wind farm up to six weeks to issue a key environmental review document, after the agency announced last week it would not meet a summer deadline.

“Through all of our communications with government officials, it has been made clear to us that there was no intention to prevent the Vineyard Wind 1 project from moving forward,” the New Bedford-based company said in a statement Thursday.

The company has told the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, though, that for a variety of reasons “it would be very challenging” to move ahead with the 84-turbine project south of the Islands in its current configuration if the final environmental impact statement is not issued within approximately four to six weeks.

The final impact statement is a review of the $2 billion construction of the offshore wind farm and its operation. The statement is a key document but one of a half-dozen federal reviews underway for the project.

In its statement, Vineyard Wind said the federal agency indicated that it understood the reasons for the company’s constraints and that it intended to communicate that to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. Vineyard Wind said it has communicated directly with Bernhardt as well about its concerns regarding the delay.

“Vineyard Wind notes that it is not unusual for there to be ongoing review of an environmental impact statement as it makes its way through the internal approval process, especially for a project of this significance,” the company said in the statement. “The National Environmental Policy Act requires an environmental impact statement to consider all best available information, which we believe BOEM has done. We are therefore confident that any remaining reviews can be concluded and an FEIS released soon after.”

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times