Saving Seafood

Boston Herald: Will wind energy deliver?

May 30, 2018 — Last week, Massachusetts announced the winner of a new offshore wind contract — which means the Bay State is about to get its first offshore wind farm. The Vineyard Wind project will be located at least a dozen miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and is expected to generate 800 megawatts of energy — enough to power 400,000 homes. Vineyard Wind is aiming for 2021 to be up and operational.

There is a lot to like about wind. The rows of wind turbines standing 397 feet tall (that’s 92 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty), rising out of the water are visually striking with their sleek blades turning in concert.

Wind energy is completely green energy, powered by a vast and inexhaustible resource. It does not pollute the water or the air. There is no ugly byproduct to contend with nor does the apparatus itself take up a lot of space. According to its website, “Vineyard Wind will offer $3.7 billion in energy related cost savings over the life of the project while eliminating 1.68 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions — the equivalent of taking 325,000 cars off the road.”

It sounds very promising as do a lot of the carefully worded­ highlights on the Vineyard Wind’s “Benefits” page.

Read the full story at the Boston Herald

 

Massachusetts: ‘Every vote matters:’ democratic candidates for governor visit New Bedford for forum

May 29, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — In a two-hour gubernatorial candidate forum hosted by the New Bedford Democratic City Committee, Jay Gonzalez and Robert Massie covered a wide range of issues including education, fishing, offshore wind, opioids and immigration.

“Every vote matters,” said moderator Shannon Jenkins, chairwoman of the Political Science Department at UMass Dartmouth and Dartmouth School Committee member, explaining the last election for governor was close.

Lisa Lemieux, a New Bedford Democrat was the main organizer of the forum, held at the Zeiterion Theatre Sunday afternoon. Prior to the forum, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., was an “open fair” with booths offering voter registration information and candidate advocacy briefing materials, a local farmer’s market and local music.

Gonzalez and Massie were in agreement on many issues, although at times each candidate suggested differing approaches. Both were in support of the proposed millionaires tax and single payer health care, and often criticized current Governor Charlie Baker who’s running for reelection as a Republican.

Fishing / offshore wind

Massie commented on last week’s announcement of Vineyard Wind winning Massachusetts’ first offshore wind contract for an 800-megawatt wind farm, calling it “much too small.”

“I would like to see the governor have agreed to a much larger wind contract so that we really create a whole industry rather than a single project,” he said.

Massie said the government has a responsibility to support people in their role or allow people to “transition out” and suggested a fisherman’s equity act. He said he acknowledges that those who depend on fishing need support to maintain their role or transition to a new role in the economy.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

OPINION: Major Offshore Wind Projects Advance in Massachusetts and Rhode Island

May 25, 2018 — Commercial-scale offshore wind power may soon become a reality in New England. On May 23, Massachusetts electric distribution companies selected Vineyard Wind, a subsidiary of Avangrid Renewables, LLC, as the preferred provider of 800 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind generation to the Massachusetts power market, and Rhode Island selected Deepwater Wind as the preferred provider of 400 MW of offshore wind generation to the Rhode Island power market. Both companies propose to generate the electricity from wind projects they intend to construct on federal leases on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Massachusetts Vineyard Wind Project

In 2017, Massachusetts electricity distribution companies initiated a request for proposals (RFP) process to acquire 400-800 MW of offshore wind. The RFP process is provided for in a series of state laws (collectively known as Section 83C) requiring Massachusetts utilities to enter into long-term contracts for approximately 1,600 MW of offshore wind energy by June 30, 2027. Three companies submitted responses during the RFP process, each submitting multiple bids to provide different options.

On May 23, Vineyard Wind’s proposal to build an array of about 100 8-MW turbines (for a total capacity of approximately 800 MW), capable of supplying 5.5-6% of Massachusetts’ energy needs, won the RFP process. According to the proposal, power will be transmitted from the offshore wind facility through an undersea cable to Cape Cod, where it will tie in with existing transmission and substation infrastructure. The project also will incorporate distributed battery energy storage that would provide benefits to low-income residents and public buildings by establishing a “Resiliency and Affordability Fund” in partnership with Citizens Energy. Vineyard Wind would contribute $15 million to the fund over 15 years, with the objectives of fostering the “wide deployment of distributed battery energy storage,” providing credits to low-income ratepayers, and helping to implement energy storage and solar energy projects at public buildings.

Read the full opinion piece at The National Review

 

Massachusetts: ‘Just one more nail in the coffin,’ fishermen react to Vineyard Wind announcement

May 24, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Ed Anthes-Washburn, the director of the New Bedford Port Authority, received a constant stream of calls Wednesday afternoon after the announcements of offshore wind contracts.

Those within the fishing industry have been preparing for the day when they’d have to share the ocean with offshore wind. However, they weren’t expecting two companies to be joining them so quickly.

“I think it’s fair to say the general reaction in the fishing industry is shock,” Anthes-Washburn said.

Massachusetts was scheduled to announce its bid winner on Wednesday, which was Vineyard Wind for an 800-megawatt wind farm about 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Rhode Island, unexpectedly, also offered Deepwater Wind a contract based on its pitch to Massachusetts for a 400-megawatt wind farm.

“The fishermen that we have been talking to have — from the outset — always advocated for start small and measure the impact,” Anthes-Washburn said. “So I was surprised that the project size for Vineyard Wind was as high as it was, but I didn’t even know that there could be 1,200-megawatts.”

Throughout the journey that led to Wednesday’s announcements, fishermen have voiced concerns regarding offshore wind and skepticism that their voices would be heard.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

R.I. selects Deepwater Wind to build 400-megawatt offshore wind farm

May 23, 2018 — PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The state has selected Deepwater Wind, the Providence company that built the nation’s first offshore wind farm, to develop a 400-megawatt proposal in federal waters far off the coast that would be more than 10 times the size of the Block Island demonstration project.

Governor Gina Raimondo announced the surprise decision Wednesday afternoon.

“Rhode Island made history when we built the first offshore wind farm in the United States,” she said in a statement. “Today, we are doing it again.”

The governor made the announcement at the same time that Massachusetts announced that it had selected Vineyard Wind, a rival offshore wind developer, to develop an 800-megawatt project in the same general area of federal waters that curves southeast in a wide swathe from a point between Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal

 

‘I was hopeful’: Vineyard Wind wins offshore wind contract with Massachusetts

May 23, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Vineyard Wind is the big winner of Massachusetts’ first offshore wind contract, but a second company, Deepwater Wind, will receive a contract from Rhode Island based on its Massachusetts bid, according to Massachusetts environmental officials.

Vineyard Wind has been selected for an 800-megawatt wind farm — about 100 turbines — in federal waters about 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Deepwater’s project, called Revolution Wind, will be half the size, and is located south of Little Compton, Rhode Island, and Westport, Massachusetts.

In the days leading up to the decision, people seemed to be talking about the idea that Massachusetts could split the award between two winners, according to Erich Stephens, Vineyard Wind’s chief development officer. Getting a full 800 megawatts came as a surprise, he said.

“I was hopeful we might get something,” he said.

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell congratulated the companies.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Comments to Vineyard Wind Draft Environmental Impact Report due June 8

May 23, 2018 — The following was released by Vineyard Wind:   

A reminder that comments to the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Vineyard Wind project are due June 8. The DEIR is prepared in accordance with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, and as such is mostly concerned with project elements located within the Commonwealth, such as the transmission cables.

The public comment period will extend through June 8, 2018.  Anyone wishing to submit comments on the DEIR can send them to:

Secretary, Matthew A. Beaton
Attn: MEPA Office, Purvi Patel (EEA #15787)
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900
Boston, MA 02114

Or by email to purvi.patel@state.ma.us

The DEIR is available at the link here. Hard copies of the DEIR are available for viewing at the locations listed further below.

Vineyard Wind encourages comments to the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act office regarding the DEIR.  In addition, if you have any questions or comments for Vineyard Wind directly, please contact Nate Mayo, nmayo@vineyardwind.com, or cell phone number 617-840-4045.  Fishermen should contact Crista Bank, Fisheries Liaison, at cbank@vineyardwind.com.  Vineyard Wind also welcomes the opportunity to present to neighborhood associations and other civic groups—please contact Nate to schedule a time.

Draft Environmental Impact Report Hard Copy Locations

Hyannis Public Library

401 Main Street

Hyannis, MA 02601

South Yarmouth Library

312 Old Main Street

South Yarmouth, MA 02664

West Yarmouth Library

391 Main Street Route 28

West Yarmouth, MA 02673

Edgartown Public Library

26 Edgartown Road

Edgartown, MA 02539

Mashpee Public Library

64 Steeple Street

Mashpee, MA 02649

Learn more about Vineyard Wind by visiting  their site here.

 

Massachusetts: Vineyard Wind deploying floating LiDAR to assess project area

May 22, 2018 — The buoy will measure a number of parameters, including:

  • Wind speed at different heights above the water
  • Wave heights and frequency
  • Ocean currents (to aid in the final design of Vineyard Wind’s generating station)

Deployment of a SEAWATCH Wind LiDAR Buoy, also commonly known as “FLIDAR buoy,” on May 22nd will allow low power laser technology to measure wind speeds with high precision over a range of altitudes above the instrument. The buoy was designed and built by Fugro, a global provider of offshore services, offshore science, and working ships design. Fugro will also operate the buoy over the course of its deployment.

Mounted on the top of the buoy, FLIDAR is commonly used at airports and on commercial airliners to detect wind shear.

Read the full story at Windpower Engineering & Development 

 

Tricia Jedele: Offshore wind rush is irresponsible

May 21, 2018 — In an April opinion piece, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wrote that “affordable, reliable, and abundant American energy drives domestic jobs and prosperity.” If by “drives domestic jobs and prosperity” Zinke meant “threatens the very existence of New England fishermen,” then the East Farm Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island (which represents Rhode Island commercial fishermen) would agree.

Right now, Zinke’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is reviewing a construction and operation plan submitted by Vineyard Wind. Vineyard Wind is a project company owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of Iberdrola, a company based in the industrial port city of Bilbao, Spain. These companies plan to install a massive offshore wind project in the waters south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.  In the first phase of the project alone, according to the plan, Vineyard Wind will install between 88 and 106 wind turbine generators, up to four electrical service platforms, 156.4 nautical miles of cable, and up to three offshore export cables that are each 122.5 nautical miles long. And this is just the first project.

There are two other project companies also vying for state contracts and state and federal approvals. Deepwater Wind’s Revolution Wind could be built off the Massachusetts’ coast at various sizes up to 400 megawatts in its first phase.  Bay State Wind, a 50-50 joint venture between Ørsted (a company based in Denmark) and Eversource Energy, is a proposed offshore wind project located 25 miles off the Massachusetts’ coast and 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard with the potential to build up to 2,000 megawatts of wind power in the area.  Combined and fully developed, these projects could install more than 500 turbines in the waters off Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Read the full story at Commonwealth Magazine

 

NEFMC Calls on BOEM to Look at Fishery Impacts of Vineyard Wind Project

May 10, 2018 — The New England Fishery Management Council is calling on federal regulators to address the concerns raised by fishing communities about the proposed Vineyard Wind offshore energy project. The request came in public comments the Council submitted to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on April 30.

Specifically, the Council has asked BOEM to require that the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project identify fisheries that are likely to be affected by wind farm construction, the potential alignment of the wind turbines, ways to mitigate any potential economic and environmental damage, and the cumulative effects of offshore energy development along the Atlantic coast. Vineyard Wind has proposed constructing a wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts.

“Commercial and recreational fisheries for the species managed by the Council are important sources of economic benefits along the entire Atlantic coast,” the Council writes. “If future benefits of these activities are to be realized, offshore energy development must minimize risks to marine species and existing human uses.”

According to the Council, BOEM must consider factors such as possible displacement of fishing activity, the impacts on vessels traveling through affected areas, and potential mitigation strategies for these impacts. As part of this analysis, the Council is requesting that BOEM investigate alternative plans for how wind farms and turbines are arranged on the ocean floor, to most effectively minimize their effects on existing ocean activities.

“A clear assessment of the costs and benefits associated with various layouts is critically important, as the setup of the array is fundamental to the ability of fishing activities to continue within the wind farm,” the letter states.

Finally, the Council asks that BOEM not just analyze the potential impact of the Vineyard Wind Project in isolation, but also take into account a long-term view of the cumulative effects wind energy development will have on the region’s fisheries.

“Given the number of wind energy projects being proposed along the Atlantic coast, the cumulative effects analysis must be comprehensive,” the Council writes. “We encourage a broad view of those projects that are reasonably foreseeable, keeping in mind that many fisheries operate on a regional scale and could be affected by projects offshore of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as New York and New Jersey.”

Read the full letter here.