Saving Seafood

Panel of scientists to study impact of wind turbines on endangered right whales

April 27, 2023 — A committee of scientists and experts convened this week to begin a monthslong process of independently evaluating potential impacts of offshore wind development on the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale and its primary food source.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the lead regulator on offshore wind, called for an independent review by a committee under the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.

The committee has a technical name, “Evaluation of Hydrodynamic Modeling and Implications for Offshore Wind Development: Nantucket Shoals,” but in simpler terms, it will evaluate the scientific models BOEM uses to inform assessments of wind turbine impacts.

According to an agency spokesperson, BOEM recognized the need for an independent evaluation of existing science on potential impacts of wind development as it relates to right whales and availability of the tiny crustaceans they feed on, also called zooplankton.

The Light first reported an inter-agency letter from a NOAA Fisheries scientist to BOEM last year that expressed concern on impacts of wind development on right whales. The scientist recommended restricting turbines in some parts of the Massachusetts-Rhode Island wind energy area, particularly those abutting the Nantucket shoals — a region that has become a critical area of foraging, breeding and calf rearing for right whales during much of the year.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Light

GOP promises offshore wind hearings

April 27, 2023 — A packed house at a Congressional hearing in the seaside Wildwood, N.J., convention center showed how criticizing the Biden administration’s offshore wind energy ambitions could be political gold for Republicans.

The local fire marshal ordered doors closed after about 400 people crowded in, leaving hundreds more in line outside during the March 16 hearing organized by Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., and billed as “an examination into offshore wind industrialization.”

Van Drew’s southern New Jersey district includes beach resort communities and fishing ports where residents object to planned wind turbine arrays, with concerns ranging from the economic effects on tourism to commercial fishermen getting shut out of longtime fishing grounds.

“This is the coercive power of the state,” Van Drew told the audience in his opening statement. “They are not listening to us.

“It is time we examine the process,” he said. He centered the event on objections raised by critics, especially allegations that a dozen mid-Atlantic whale strandings since December could have been related to survey work on offshore wind power leases.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has strongly denied those claims. The winter strandings of mostly humpback whales follow a trend since 2016 of increased mortality along the East Coast. Necropsies of recent strandings found evidence those animals were killed by ship strikes.

Read the full story at WorkBoat

Rate Counsel suggests NJ slow down the pace of offshore wind development

December 15, 2022 — Offshore wind farms in New Jersey should consider scaling back how much new offshore wind capacity is approved next year because economic and financial uncertainties could lead to higher prices, according to the Division of Rate Counsel. 

Rate Counsel Director Brian Lipman suggested slowing down the pace of offshore wind development as higher interest rates, supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures are causing some developers to seek to renegotiate the contracts they have been awarded to build wind farms. 

“This is of great concern,’’ Lipman told the staff of the state Board of Public Utilities Tuesday during a stakeholder meeting. The board was meeting to discuss making a third solicitation for offshore wind projects early next year. Lipman suggested that the board’s staff develop guidelines to prevent after-the-fact increases to contracts awarded to developers. 

Ørsted, the developer of New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm about 15 miles off Atlantic City, has acknowledged it is not earning what it expected on its U.S. projects. If the company seeks to renegotiate its contract, it must file a petition with the BPU, Lipman said. 

Read the full story at NJ Spotlight News

Virginia urges caution to avoid wind power conflicts with fishing, shipping industries

July 6, 2022 — Virginia state officials cautioned the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that its proposed opening of 4 million acres off the Mid-Atlantic coast for wind energy development must include early steps to avoid conflicts with commercial fishing and navigation to the state’s ports.

Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s top cabinet officials sent a June 27 letter to BOEM stating support for wind power, but urging that planning “balance the competing interests of all stakeholders.”

The letter notes a potential for “millions of dollars of negative impact to Virginia’s commercial fishing industries.”

“While supportive of the growth of the offshore wind industry and the opportunities for the commonwealth to provide critical support to the offshore wind industry supply chain and become a key hub for future development, we must ensure any future leasing areas do not detrimentally impact or restrict maritime commerce or commercial navigation,” the letter states.

Virginia is heavily invested in offshore wind with a goal of making the Norfolk and Hampton Roads ports a major hub for the U.S. wind industry. Under former Democratic governor Ralph Northam the state committed to offshore wind in its future energy planning.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

VIRGINIA: Youngkin administration warns feds new wind areas could hurt commercial fisheries

July 1, 2022 — Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration told federal officials that large areas of ocean off Virginia being considered as potential offshore wind sites could cause “millions of dollars of negative impact to Virginia’s commercial fishing industries.”

“While supportive of the growth of the offshore wind industry and the opportunities for the commonwealth to provide critical support to the offshore wind industry supply chain and become a key hub for future development, we must ensure any future leasing areas do not detrimentally impact or restrict maritime commerce or commercial navigation,” wrote officials in a June 27 letter to the Bureau of Energy Ocean Management.

The letter was signed by Acting Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick, Secretary of Transportation W. Sheppard Miller, Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs Craig Crenshaw and Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater.

The administration’s comments came in response to a BOEM proposal for a 4 million acre Central Atlantic call area where the federal government could auction off lease areas to offshore wind developers. The public comment period on the draft call area closed Tuesday.

The Central Atlantic proposal is far larger than the expansion initially envisioned by former Gov. Ralph Northam. In a November 2020 letter to then-Acting Director Walter Cruickshank, Northam formally requested that the federal agency auction off “two additional 100,000-acre wind lease areas off the coast of Virginia.” The state also sent the federal government two potential scenarios for additional lease areas near the existing ones held by Dominion Energy and the state’s energy agency. One of the proposals was identified as having “the least conflict possible with shipping, fishing or marine mammals,” and the other had “minimal conflicts with military operations and shipping” but some conflicts with fisheries.

Read the full story at the Virginia Mercury

 

New York wind developers, environmental groups sign agreement on right whales

June 28, 2022 — Offshore wind developers Ørsted and Eversource say they have struck an agreement with environmental groups to improve protection of endangered north Atlantic right whales during construction and operation of the South Fork Wind project.

The companies say they will adopt monitoring measures to make sure right whales are not nearby during construction activity, and use mitigation steps to reduce underwater noise during pile driving.

They will also evaluate other new monitoring technologies, including thermal cameras, acoustic sensors, and data integration software. Developers say the findings from South Fork will be used in future projects.

A 10-knot vessel speed limit will be in place for all boats working on the project, “unless an effective adaptive speed management plan is in place,” according to the developers.

Such 10-knot limits are commonly sought by the National Marine Fisheries Service when its monitoring detects right whale movements off the East Coast, triggering announcements of special management areas to reduce the danger of ship strikes. Accidental encounters in the shipping lanes are a major cause of death for right whales, now estimated to number only around 340 animals.

NMFS whale monitoring has shown substantial overlap between right whale movements and offshore wind development areas off southern New England.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

BOEM Seeks Public Comment on Draft Fisheries Mitigation Strategy

June 23, 2022 — As part of its efforts to ensure that offshore renewable energy development occurs in a thoughtful manner that minimizes conflicts with other ocean users, today the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced the availability of draft guidance on mitigating potential impacts of offshore wind development on commercial and recreational fishing and is inviting public review and comment on the draft.

This draft mitigation document is the next step in the development of guidance for offshore wind companies that was begun in the winter of 2021 through a Request for Information from the fishing industry, government agencies, non-government organizations, and the general public, in consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

Today’s announcement initiates a 60-day public review and comment period on the draft guidance, which will end at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern) on August 22, 2022.

“Fishing communities and fisheries stakeholders are critical to our offshore energy development process, and we’re looking forward to discussions on this draft guidance,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton. “We’re seeking open and honest conversations focused on finding solutions to potential challenges as we work to provide clean, safe domestic energy for American taxpayers while at the same time providing good-paying jobs and building a U.S. supply chain to support this effort.”

The draft guidance provides detailed processes and methodologies to the offshore wind industry and lessees to mitigate impacts to fisheries in the areas of project siting, design, navigation, access, safety, and financial compensation. This guidance will help ensure consistent use of data and methodologies across projects and states and assist lessees and BOEM in the preparation and review of construction and operations plans.

To facilitate comments, BOEM will hold a series of public meetings to discuss the contents of the draft guidance and hear from commercial and recreational fishers and other interested parties firsthand.

Meetings will be held on the following dates and times:

  • July 11, 9 to 11 a.m. EDT: East Coast Meeting
  • July 15, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. PDT: West Coast Meeting
  • July 18, 9 to 11 a.m. CDT: Gulf Coast Meeting
  • July 21, 9 to 11 a.m. EDT: Developers Meeting

Registration for the meetings and additional information will be shared on BOEM’s website in the coming days.

While these meetings are focused on obtaining input from the fishing industry and recreational fishers, they are open to the public and anyone can provide comments via regulations.gov.

BOEM will review and consider comments on the draft guidance as it develops final guidance over the summer of 2022.

“We want feedback on the entirety of mitigation framework, from facility design considerations to recommendations on compensatory mitigation, particularly from the people and organizations that this guidance is meant to aid,” said BOEM Marine Biologist Brian Hooker.

For more information about the draft guidance, how to register for the fisheries mitigation workshops, and how to submit comments, visit BOEM’s website.

Read the release from BOEM

 

Offshore wind farms expected to reduce clam fishery revenue, study finds

June 23, 2022 — An important East Coast shellfish industry is projected to suffer revenue losses as offshore wind energy develops along the U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic coasts, according to two Rutgers studies.

The studies, which appear in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, examined how offshore wind farms planned for the eastern United States could disrupt fishing of the Atlantic surfclam, a major economic driver from Virginia to Massachusetts that generates more than $30 million in direct annual revenue. Total fleet revenue declines measured by the studies ranged from 3 percent to 15 percent, depending on the scale of offshore wind development and response of the fishing fleet.

In New Jersey, losses could be as high as 25 percent for  based in Atlantic City.

“Understanding the impacts of fishery exclusion and fishing effort displacement from development of  is critical to the sustainability of the Atlantic surfclam fishing industry,” said co-author Daphne Munroe, an associate professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

“Tools that can predict and manage these complex and interconnected challenges are essential for developing and evaluating strategies that allow for multiple users of the offshore environment.”

Read the full story at Phys.org

 

Fishermen concerned about wind turbines being built off Ocean City coast

June 22, 2022 — A federal agency will begin a series of public hearings Tuesday on the planned wind farm off the coast of Ocean City.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is looking at potential environmental impacts and what measures can be taken to reduce them.

Members of the commercial fishing industry have concerns with wind turbines being built on their fishing grounds.

Ted Smith has fished for conch off the coast of Ocean City for 20 years, setting out to sea before dawn. His shortest days are 12 hours long and there’s no time off. He fishes in storms, heat, rain and ice. Smith said fishing and family are the most important things in his life.

“To wake up in the morning and to know that I am to get in this boat and drive out that inlet and the sun is going to come up and I am going to be able to go to work, other than being a father, probably (is) one of the best feelings in my life,” Smith said.

Smith tosses 250 conch pots onto the ocean bottom each trip. Conchs are snail-like creatures that live on the bottom of the ocean. Considered a delicacy by the Chinese, they can fetch up to $4.50 a pound. Smith’s goal is to catch 1,000 pounds each trip. He considers his six-figure salary a modest living, supporting his wife and four children.

Read the full story at WBAL-TV

 

America’s next wind powerhouse: The Gulf of Mexico?

May 31, 2022 — A home base of the oil and gas industry wants in on offshore wind.

The Gulf of Mexico has spent eight decades as one of the nation’s prime petroleum hubs, home to thousands of rigs, platforms and other structures that drill, store and ship fossil fuels. Now the Biden administration is reviewing 30 million acres of Gulf waters near Texas and Louisiana for potential wind turbines — a development that could dovetail with proposals to generate other clean energy sources, such as hydrogen.

Climate change isn’t the only reason to bring wind power to the Gulf, said former Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who unsuccessfully tried to launch the world’s largest offshore wind farm in the area nearly two decades ago — even prematurely proclaiming in 2006 that “the wind rush is on.”

“We still need alternative and renewable energy because [oil and gas] are a finite commodity,” Patterson said in an April interview. “We ain’t making anymore. Not fast enough anyway.”

Patterson, who calls himself a “drill, baby, drill” guy, added: “How long will the oil and gas last? I don’t know. Is it 50 years or 500 years? I don’t know. But at some point, it goes away.”

Patterson’s effort awarded two multimillion-dollar wind power leases off the Texas coast, but the projects never materialized after falling natural gas prices undermined their economics. Instead, the wind industry remained onshore to the vast open stretches of west Texas and the state’s Panhandle.

Challenges to potential Gulf wind projects persist, including the region’s frequent hurricanes and billions of migratory birds. The area’s typical wind speeds are also lower than those of the Atlantic Coast, the biggest haven for U.S. offshore wind projects.

Read the full story at Politico