Saving Seafood

Is offshore wind for the birds?

July 7, 2021 — The northbound spring migration of shorebirds through the New Jersey coast raises an obvious question: What happens if there are 850-foot-tall wind turbines spinning in their flyway between South America and Canada?

The prospect of dozens, perhaps hundreds of wind turbines on the East Coast outer continental shelf raises questions of how those structures may affect the red knot, considered a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Developers Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind LLC engaged one of the world’s top experts to find out.

“The birds jump off from Cape Cod, Brigantine, Stone Harbor,” said Larry Niles, ticking off coastal Massachusetts and New Jersey feeding grounds for the red knots. “We know the birds are going through the wind (power) areas.”

I met Niles years ago when he was chief of New Jersey’s Endangered and Non-Game Species Program and started the Delaware Bay Shorebird Project, now in its 25th year of monitoring the migration. Today he has a consulting firm, Wildlife Restoration Partners, with years of experience assessing the health of red knots with other shorebirds and working on wind power studies.

Read the full story at WorkBoat

Fishing Industry Feels Stranded As Offshore Wind Gathers Momentum

July 6, 2021 — On a clear morning in early June, cotton sacks filled with shucked scallops hit the scale at Gambardella’s dockside warehouse in Stonington, Connecticut. They’re being offloaded from the Furious, a scallop boat just back from a 12-day trip.

Owner and longtime fisherman Joe Gilbert runs four scallop boats out of this dock. Up in the wheelhouse of the Furious, he indicated on a chart where in the future, this same trip might be a lot more difficult to navigate.

“This entire area here is slated to be a wind farm,” he said. “It’s an area larger than the state of Rhode Island.”

In its pursuit of green energy, the Biden administration has given strong backing to the nascent offshore wind industry in the U.S. While Europe has 20 years of experience developing offshore wind, it’s relatively new in North America.

Last month saw the final approval for the very first commercial-scale project, Vineyard Wind, off the coast of Massachusetts — just one of 14 projects being considered off the Atlantic coast.

But these aren’t empty seas. Plenty of other ocean users have concerns about the massive steel turbines being erected offshore, not least commercial fishing, which is a multimillion-dollar industry in New England.

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance has taken the lead in advocating for the fishing industry. Its major concern is that fishing vessels could strike one of the massive wind farm turbines in bad weather. In addition, the spinning blades interfere with the radar vessels use to find their catch. And fishermen like Gilbert worry that the structures will alter the ocean ecosystem as they change current patterns and cause formerly distinct layers of water to mix.

“We’re racing forward without the proper science to evaluate if this is good or if this is bad,” said Gilbert.

Read the full story at WNPR

U.S. to review proposed Dominion Energy wind farm off Virginia

July 2, 2021 — The U.S. government will conduct an environmental review of a potential wind power project off the coast of Virginia, the Biden administration said on Thursday, part of an effort to create tens of thousands of jobs in the business by 2030.

Dominion Energy’s (D.N) Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project calls for construction and operation of up to 205 wind turbines capable of generating up to 3,000 megawatts of electricity by 2026. The turbines would be located more than 20 nautical miles off the Virginia coast.

Dominion says the project, when fully built, could power up to 660,000 homes.

​ The Biden administration wants to develop 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030, creating nearly 80,000 jobs.

“Recent technological advances, falling costs, and tremendous economic potential make offshore wind a promising avenue for diversifying our national energy portfolio, creating good-paying union jobs, and tackling climate change,” Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland said in a release.

Read the full story at Reuters

National Academies studying wind turbine impact on vessel radar

July 2, 2021 — A new committee associated with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is taking on a study of how planned wind turbines off the U.S. East Coast may affect vessel radars.

Knowing how mariners will see turbine towers on radar – and see each other’s vessels moving past them – will help the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in planning for those projects.

With BOEM aiming to have environmental reviews for 16 of those projects by 2025, the agency is looking to expand understanding of how marine radars can be affected, said Arianna Baker, a BOEM program analyst, during an introductory online meeting June 29 with committee members. The National Academies committee mission is “to assess impacts of offshore wind turbine generators on marine vessel radar and identify techniques that can be used to mitigate those impacts,” according to an announcement of the meeting.

Previous studies the agency is looking at include one by the British Wind Energy Association that examined the Kentish Flats project near approaches to the Port of London during 2006, a time of smaller, less powerful turbines and earlier generations of marine radar. A 2007 report from that study described radar reflections, mirror images and other phenomena seen by operators.

Now BOEM is reviewing plans by developers to erect 12- to 14-megawatt turbines, and how that could affect the radar images mariners use in navigation.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

UPDATE: Atlantic Shores Awarded Largest Single Project in New Jersey

July 2, 2021 — The following was released by Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind:

The Atlantic Shores Offshore wind team is excited to share some breaking news with you! On June 30th, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities issued an order awarding Atlantic Shores a 20-year OREC (Offshore Renewable Energy Certificate) for our 1,510 MW offshore wind project, which is the largest single project award in the state and second largest awarded offshore wind project in the U.S., enough to power over 700,000 homes. In addition to affordable, renewable energy, our project includes millions of dollars in key investments for New Jersey workers, top academic institutions, environmental and community organizations, as well as the creation of a turbine nacelle assembly facility and the launch of an innovative 10 MW green hydrogen pilot. With these commitments, New Jersey is well on its way to being a national leader in green energy and innovation.

Read the full release here

Maine to ban offshore wind in state waters for 10 years

July 2, 2021 — Maine governor Janet Mills (D-ME) supports offshore wind, but those working in the lobster industry are worried that offshore wind turbines will threaten their livelihood. So the Maine legislature has unanimously approved a compromise, which Mills is expected to sign, because she introduced the proposal.

Basically, state waters will be used for fishing and recreation, and offshore wind energy will be prioritized in federal waters farther from the Maine coast.

There will be a moratorium, which will last until March 1, 2031, on projects close to the coast, and the state is working with New England Aqua Ventus on a floating offshore wind technology demonstration project, the first in the US, in federal waters.

Further, there will also be a group created called the Offshore Wind Research Consortium that will include members of fishing groups.

Read the full story at Electrek

Latest offshore wind award to triple megawatts off South Jersey

July 1, 2021 — The state awarded the right to build another 2,600 megawatts of offshore wind electric generation to two companies Wednesday, a milestone Gov. Phil Murphy celebrated during his regular COVID-19 media briefing.

“We just approved the largest combined offshore wind award in history,” Murphy said of the action by the state Board of Public Utilities on Wednesday morning. “It will triple our total capacity and strengthen our commitment to securing good union jobs and make New Jersey a national leader in the offshore wind industry.”

BPU President Joe Fiordaliso, who attended Murphy’s briefing, said Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind will build a 1,510 megawatt farm off the coast between Long Beach Island and Atlantic City, and Ørsted’s Ocean Wind will build 1,148 megawatts of the new solicitation in its leasing area in federal waters southeast of Atlantic City.

“Combined, once these turbines are in the water, they will supply power to 1.1 million homes in New Jersey,” Fiordaliso said.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City

Major wind project secures key federal approval

July 1, 2021 — Park City Wind, a second major wind project put forward by Orange-based Avangrid, is a step closer to reality after getting a key approval from federal regulators.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued approval to go ahead with an environmental impact study for Park City Wind, an 804-megawatt offshore project under development by Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

“This is another important milestone for Avangrid’s portfolio of offshore wind projects,” said CEO Dennis Arriola. “We look forward to working with BOEM, the Lamont Administration, community leaders and our partners to successfully develop Park City Wind and deliver clean energy to our home state of Connecticut.”

If completed, Park City Wind would be the state’s largest offshore wind project and has a commitment from the state to buy its electricity.

Read the full story at New Haven BIZ

Maine looks for offshore wind compromise with fishermen

July 1, 2021 — The Maine Legislature approved a compromise about offshore wind power in Maine that would put a moratorium on projects close to the Maine coast.

Maine’s lobster fishing industry has expressed concerns about the effect development of offshore wind power could have on its business. The state is working with New England Aqua Ventus on a project that would be the first floating offshore wind research array in the country.

The Maine Legislature unanimously approved its compromise on Wednesday and sent it to Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who is a supporter of wind power. Mills introduced the compromise proposal earlier this year. She said at the time that it was an attempt to “protect Maine’s maritime heritage and coastal economy while being out front in this new competitive industry.”

The proposal would also create a group called the Offshore Wind Research Consortium that would include members of fishing groups. It would research the impacts of offshore wind.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

PFMC to hold marine planning and offshore development online meeting July 22-23, 2021

July 1, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) will hold an online meeting to consider information on marine planning and offshore development and activities, which is open to the public. The online meeting will be held Thursday, July 22 and Friday, 23, 2021, beginning at 9 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time and continuing until 5 p.m. or until business is completed.

Please see the meeting notice on the Council’s website for details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Mr. Kerry Griffin at 503-820-2422; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.