Saving Seafood

Offshore wind, fishing industries work to co-exist

August 23, 2018 — Offshore wind farm developer Orsted worked with the fishing community in designing its proposed 800 megawatt Bay State Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, and intends to do the same thing with its Ocean Wind project planned for off Atlantic City, a company biologist said Wednesday.

The company scrapped plans to scatter its 180 turbines to be most efficient in capturing wind, adopting instead a grid pattern at the request of fishermen. The patterned layout would be easier for fishing vessels to maneuver through and fish in, said Laura Morse.

Morse gave a presentation at a symposium on Fisheries and Offshore Energy at the American Fisheries Society’s annual meeting, which opened at the Convention Center here on Sunday and runs through Thursday.

Developers have acknowledged that the construction phase can disrupt fisheries with noise, heavy ship traffic, sediment increases in the water, and other factors. But the operational phase is much less disruptive to fishing, they have said.

Orsted also added two transit lanes, each a mile in width, for vessels to use to get into and out of the busy fishing port of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Morse declined to say how much less efficient the new design will be for generating electricity, calling the information proprietary.

Norway-based Equinor, which is proposing to develop Empire Wind in the New York Bight off North Jersey, has used ‘statements of common ground’ when negotiating with fishermen in the United Kingdom, said its representative Martin Goff.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City

NEW JERSEY: Ratepayer-funded offshore wind a boon to state’s labor, air quality

August 21, 2018 — The state is working to open the bidding for the first 1,100 megawatts of offshore wind energy by the end of the year, in time for developers to qualify for 2019 federal tax credits, a spokesperson for the Board of Public Utilities told a meeting of wind developers and supporters Monday.

That should save ratepayers about 12 percent of the building costs, said Anne Marie McShea, off-shore wind program administrator for the BPU at the conference Time for Turbines: What a Difference a Year Makes on Monday at the Atlantic County Utility Authority’s wastewater treatment facility.

The federal credits are due to end at the end of next year.

Ratepayers will finance the construction of offshore wind farms through an add-on to their monthly bills, awarded as Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Credits to developers in a competitive process.

The rules for the OREC process were published in the New Jersey Register on Monday, after being released in draft form last week.

The Offshore Wind Economic Development Act of 2010, intended to get the industry started here, was not implemented under Gov. Chris Christie, said Doug O’Malley of Environment New Jersey, one of the organizers. But Gov. Phil Murphy, who is looking for the state to rely 100 percent on clean energy by 2050, has made it a priority.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City

New Jersey moves forward on state’s Offshore Wind Strategic Plan

August 17, 2018 — The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJ BPU) has selected Ramboll to coordinate and facilitate the development of the State’s Offshore Wind (OSW) Strategic Plan as called for under Governor Murphy’s Executive Order No. 8, which set the most ambitious goal in the U.S. of 3,500 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.

The OSW Strategic Plan will guide the development of offshore wind as a renewable energy source in the State. Ramboll will lead a team that includes Stantec Consulting Services Inc., Rutgers Energy Institute Wind Group (REI-Wind LESS/CAIT), BVG Associates LLC (BVGA), the Business Network for Offshore Wind (the Network), InGroup Inc., and Endeavor Fisheries (Endeavor).

This strong team of New Jersey practitioners and firms brings experience in all areas of the developing offshore wind market, both domestically and internationally. Their combined U.S. and global experience and expertise provides a deep understanding of the offshore wind market and the specific implications for New Jersey.

Read the full story at Windpower Engineering & Development

NEW YORK: East Hampton Town Trustees Hear from Public on South Fork Wind Farm

August 16, 2018 — Residents, both for and against a proposal by Deepwater Wind to secure an easement from the East Hampton Town Trustees to land a power cable in Wainscott for the proposed South Fork Wind Farm, attended Monday’s trustees meeting with some calling on the board to consider the big-picture ramifications of global warming. Others questioned whether the project would solve the energy demands of the peak summer season on the South Fork.

Deepwater Wind has proposed a 15-turbine wind farm, roughly 30 miles off the coast of Montauk. The company has a contract with the Long Island Power Authority to supply it with power from the wind farm beginning in 2022. It has already secured its lease for the sea floor from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), although it still needs to go through a permitting process with BOEM and the Public Service Commission before it can begin construction.

While both the town board and town trustees in East Hampton have said they will petition to be a part of that review process, in terms of approvals, Deepwater Wind as of now has sought easements from trustees to land its power cable off Beach Lane in Wainscott and one from the town board asking to run the cable under town-owned roads to a power substation off Cove Hollow Road in Wainscott. Deepwater Wind has offered more than $8 million in community benefits in return for the easements and the town board voted, 3-2, in July to hire counsel to draft an agreement with Deepwater Wind. The trustees have yet to take a formal vote on any potential agreement with the company.

Read the full story at the Sag Harbor Express

East Coast Offshore Wind Outlook

August 16, 2018 — There is no question that 2018 is emerging as a watershed year for the offshore wind energy industry in the U.S., with several large wind farms having their site plans approved and states increasing their commitments and goals for offshore wind energy.

In the midst of this energy and excitement, we need to keep in mind that regional cooperation between developers, suppliers, and between the states is going to be critical to building a healthy and sustainable industry supported by a viable supply chain.

We use the term “co-opetition” to describe the combination of competition and collaboration, and apply it to remind the industry that no single state is going to own the entire supply chain. The U.S. offshore wind energy pie is big, and there is enough for every state so they don’t need to fight but work together on complex issues such as commercial fishing, navigation, environmental impacts, and supply chain development on a regional basis.

To those waiting for this technology to come online and start replacing fossil fuel power plants, a year or two or even five years may seem like a long time to wait, but timing projects so we have a “good pipeline” — a steady, consistent stream of projects throughout the 2020s — is important, so construction projects don’t stack up on each other and we don’t have huge, expensive pieces of customized offshore wind equipment and highly skilled labor forces standing idle one year and strained to the breaking point the next.

Read the full story at Wind Systems Magazine

NEW YORK: NYPA to lead offshore wind study; LIPA will also have role

August 9, 2018 — A memorandum of understanding has been signed by New York power agencies and partners to conduct a study of successful offshore wind transmission models, with a specific focus on large-scale European projects, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Aug. 8.

The New York Power Authority will lead the study and a number of parties including the Long Island Power Authority will collaborate with NYPA on the initial phase of the research.

Input gained from the study will help determine the optimal infrastructure required to support offshore wind targets set by the governor.

Earlier this year, Cuomo announced the New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan, which will guide the state in the development of 2,400 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030. The plan describes the conditions needed for the state to achieve its offshore wind target and indicates the need for future technical studies and analyses to advance the most cost-effective and responsible development.

Cuomo’s office said the findings of the study will be timely as the state looks at transmission costs which the master plan estimates could comprise 30 percent of total costs of an offshore wind development.

Particular attention will be given in the study to the physical design, including radial and network connections and interconnections between the projects and to the respective onshore transmission systems as well as development and rate structures.

It will also focus on the ownership structures, business models and financing approaches used in each jurisdiction, as well as the regulatory approaches governing transmission development and cost recovery.

Read the full story at the American Public Power Association

NEW YORK: East Hampton Trustees To Discuss Hiring Counsel for Deepwater Wind

August 9, 2018 — The Town Trustees in East Hampton will continue to debate the potential landing of a wind farm cable in Wainscott next week, as Deepwater Wind, the offshore wind company proposing the South Fork Wind Farm roughly 30 miles off the coast of Montauk, announced last week it will begin a seafloor survey of its leased sea bottom lands off Montauk and off the coast of Rhode Island to assist with the design and construction of proposed wind farms in both locations.

The Trustees are expected to hold an executive session during a meeting next Monday to discuss hiring special counsel to represent the body in negotiations over a community benefits package being floated by Deepwater Wind in connection to a request by the firm to land the South Fork Wind Farm power cable off Beach Lane in Wainscott. In order to do that, Deepwater Wind needs to secure easements from both the East Hampton Town Board and East Hampton Town Trustees.

In July, the East Hampton Town Board voted, 3-2, to hire its own counsel to draft an agreement to grant Deepwater Wind easement to run its cable from the beach under local streets to an existing LIPA substation off Cove Hollow Road. Members who voted in favor of the resolution also memorialized their support for the project in its resolution. Councilmembers Jeffrey Bragman and David Lys voted against the measure.

According to Trustee Clerk Francis Bock, the trustees, who manage wetlands, waterways and beaches in the town, are “pretty split” on whether to allow Deepwater Wind access to Beach Lane. A committee, made up of trustees Rick Drew, John Aldred, Susan McGraw Keber and James Grimes, has been formed to make a recommendation to the body on the hiring of outside counsel to represent the board in the state and federal review of the 15-turbine project. Mr. Bock said that counsel, if trustees do come to accord, would also be used to draft any agreement between trustees and Deepwater Wind specific to the benefits package.

Read the full story at the Sag Harbor Express

MASSACHUSETTS: Bay State Wind alters proposal to allow more distance between turbines

August 9, 2018 — As offshore wind companies jockey for position in preparation for Massachusetts’ next round of bidding, Bay State Wind announced an adjustment to its proposal earlier this week.

According to Lauren Burm, the head of public affairs for Bay State Wind, after speaking with “key stakeholders including the fishing community,” the company altered its proposal in terms of spacing between turbines to a nautical mile in rows running east to west..

“Based on their helpful feedback we have adjusted our layout to better accommodate fishing patterns and vessel transiting through the wind farm, while also maintaining efficiency and maximizing power production,” Burm said.

Those within the industry disagree that the adjustment by Bay State Wind, a partnership between Orstead and Eversource, helps fishermen navigate.“There’s no way a mile spacing would result in a safe transit,” New Bedford scalloper Eric Hansen said.

Similar sentiment has been expressed in the past by fishermen.

Hansen said he traveled to Europe, specifically Great Britain, to learn more about the offshore wind farms.

He said the turbines are spaced less than a mile apart, however, the fishing vessels are much smaller, too.

When he spoke to fishermen across the pond, he learned they were wary of navigating between the turbines.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

NY ratepayers will pay for $2.1B offshore wind plan, but won’t get the energy

August 8, 2018 — New York state ratepayers will pick up the tab for the Cuomo Administration’s multi-billion dollar plan to jump-start the offshore wind industry, but most won’t benefit from the energy produced.

Only consumers in Long Island and New York City will be able to access the wind-powered energy that’s going to be generated in the waters off the state’s Atlantic coast in the years to come.

As soon as 2020, typical residential ratepayers could see an increase of up to 76 cents a month in their electric bills as the state goes all-in on offshore wind as a critical piece of the state’s renewable energy future, The Journal News/Poughkeepsie Journal has learned.

That’s in addition to the average $2 per month charge state ratepayers are already paying for the bailout of three struggling upstate nuclear power plants for the next ten years.

The New York State Public Service Commission announced last week that it had agreed to procure some 800 megawatts of offshore wind energy over the next two years, the first phase in an effort to develop 2,400 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, enough to power 1.2 million households in New York City and Long Island.

“Robust offshore wind development is not only critical to meeting our clean energy and carbon reduction goals, this investment has the potential to create thousands of jobs and fuel a $6 billion industry for New York as it combats climate change,” Cuomo said.

The Long Island Commercial Fishing Association (LICFA), based in Montauk, have joined a lawsuit challenging the decision by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to allow thousands of acres off the Atlantic coast of Long Island to be leased to offshore wind companies.

The six areas available for lease could hold up to 200 wind turbines.

“The historical, traditional commercial fishing communities of Long Island, which include hundreds of small business owners, the very tax and rate-payers whose businesses help to support other small businesses throughout Long Island, are ground zero for having their very livelihoods and businesses destroyed,” Bonnie Brady, the executive director of LICFA wrote in April.

Read the full story from the Poughkeepsie Journal at the Ithaca Journal

Bay State Wind alters layout for offshore wind farm, but fisheries call foul

August 8, 2018 — Bay State Wind LLC is changing the turbine layout of its 800-MW Bay State Offshore Wind Project to accommodate the U.S. commercial fishing industry’s ability to work between turbines. But fisheries say the changes are too little, too late and underscore their growing frustration with the offshore wind sector.

Bay State Wind, a partnership between Danish energy developer Ørsted A/S and New England utility Eversource Energy, announced on Aug. 6 that the new plan reorganizes wind turbines in rows running east-to-west and incorporates one nautical mile between rows to allow fishing vessels more space to travel through, “keeping in mind the need to balance safe navigation, fishing concerns and clean energy production.” The updated turbine layout will be included in Bay State Wind’s construction and operations plan that it intends to submit to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management by early 2019.

However, the commercial fishing industry is not satisfied with Bay State Wind’s changed layout. Meghan Lapp, fisheries liaison for Rhode Island-based frozen seafood producer Seafreeze Ltd., said one-mile-wide transit lanes can make it dangerous for trawl vessels to fish with their nets without hitting other boats or project infrastructure. Buffer zones for each side of a transit lane are also needed due to potential radar interference from the turbines.

“Unfortunately, developers only seem to do what is convenient for them at a low cost in response to fishing issues and concerns,” Lapp said. “The right step for a long-term working relationship between the fishing and wind industries is to address these and other commercial fishing concerns before we reach the stage of construction plans. Which is not being done in any meaningful way.”

Bonnie Brady, director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, said the frustration with Bay State Wind’s project is not unfamiliar. She recalled similar issues with Deepwater Wind‘s Deepwater Offshore Wind Energy Center (South Fork Wind Farm) proposed off of Rhode Island, which has a turbine layout that would require fisheries to make detours that would add hours and costs to fishing trips.

Read the full story at S&P Global Market Intelligence