Saving Seafood

Vineyard Wind dealt blows on two fronts

July 11, 2019 — The Edgartown conservation commission, in a 5-1 vote, has denied a permit for cables that would pass through the Muskeget Channel.

Vineyard Wind proposed to bury two 400 megawatt export cables one mile off Chappaquiddick from its proposed wind farm 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard to a site in Barnstable.

The cables had been approved by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, but at the Edgartown hearings fishermen pushed back strongly against them saying that the cables might have detrimental marine effects.

Vineyard Wind and their consultants, Epsilon, appeared stunned after the vote. No one from the contingent would comment on the decision. Later, Scott Farmelant, a spokesman for the project, issued a statement: “Vineyard Wind appreciates the efforts of the Edgartown Conservation Commission and local stakeholders for its very detailed project review process, which focused on a broad range of issues associated with the work contemplated in the Muskeget Channel…”

Read the full story at the MV Times

Feds throw up uncertainty for Vineyard Wind project

July 11, 2019 — Federal officials are not ready to issue an approval for the Vineyard Wind offshore power project, which may affect the project’s timeline.

Project officials late Wednesday announced that they had been informed by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) that “they are not yet prepared to issue” the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the 800 megawatt project.

The schedule had called for a decision on the EIS by Friday, July 12. Project officials have long been planning to start construction on the 84-turbine installation in federal waters south of Martha’s Vineyard by the end of 2019, and become operational in 2021.

Asked whether federal officials had offered a new timeline for a decision on the EIS, a project official declined to comment.

“We understand that, as the first commercial scale offshore wind project in the U.S., the Vineyard Wind project will undergo extraordinary review before receiving approvals,” Vineyard Wind said in a statement on its website. “As with any project of this scale and complexity, changes to the schedule are anticipated. Vineyard Wind remains resolutely committed to working with BOEM to deliver the United States’ first utility-scale wind farm and its essential benefits – an abundant supply of cost-effective clean energy combined with enormous economic and job-creation opportunities.”

The Interior Department in April got a new secretary, David Bernhardt of Virginia, who had served in leadership roles at the department for nearly a decade.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard Times

Virginia starts construction of first offshore wind farm

July 8, 2019 — Virginia Governor Ralph Northam picked up a shovel July 1 to take part in a ceremonial ground breaking marking the start of construction of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) demonstration project, consisting of two six-megawatt wind turbines located approximately 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach.

This is the first offshore wind project to be installed in federal waters. Dominion Energy is partnering with Ørsted to build the project on 2,135 acres leased by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME).

“The Virginia offshore wind demonstration project is another powerful example of the Commonwealth’s position as a leader in renewable energy,” said Governor Northam. “As the first deployment of commercial-scale offshore wind turbines in federal waters, I am thrilled that Virginia’s project will help determine best practices for future offshore wind construction along the East Coast.”

Read the full story at MarineLog

VINEYARD WIND: July 9th Notice to Mariners and Fishermen

July 3, 2019 — The following was released by Vineyard Wind:

We wanted to let you know that Vineyard Wind will begin geological surveys on or about July 9th. The estimated duration is approximately 4 days, ending on July 12, 2019. Surveys will take place nearshore in Centerville Harbor. Please see the full notice to fishermen and mariners here.

We encourage fishermen who may be working in the survey area to contact the fishery liaison.

This survey will gather data on the subfloor conditions that will assist in characterizing the subsurface conditions along the proposed offshore horizontal directional drilling (HDD) route.

Vineyard Wind is committed to communicating and working with the local fishermen in the region during all stages of development of the proposed offshore wind farm.

If you have any questions, please contact Erik Peckar, Fishery Liaison via email at erik@vineyardpower.com or via cell phone at 703-244-9585.

America’s Second Offshore Wind Farm Is Now Under Construction

July 2, 2019 — Dominion Energy Inc. began work to install cables for a wind farm in the Atlantic Ocean near Virginia, marking the start of construction on the second such facility off the U.S. coast.

The Richmond, Virginia-based utility owner is working with Denmark’s Orsted A/S to install the two 6-megawatt turbines 27 miles (43 kilometers) east of Virginia Beach. They’re expected to start producing power for up to 3,000 homes next year, according to a statement Monday.

Read the full story at Bloomberg

MASSACHUSETTS: Fishermen, Climate Activists Clash Over Wind Farm Cable

July 1, 2019 — Commercial fishermen and climate activists packed the Ted B. Morgan meeting room last Wednesday, sparring with each other during a marathon, five-hour public hearing before the Edgartown conservation commission over two proposed undersea cables that would connect the nation’s first industrial-scale offshore wind-farm to the mainland.

Although the cables have been approved by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, among other regulatory bodies, the portions of the cables in Edgartown waters are also subject to review by the town conservation commission under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act. The two, 220 kilovolt cables will run approximately one mile from Chappaquiddick’s eastern shore, connecting the proposed 80-turbine Vineyard Wind project to an electrical generating station in Barnstable.

Vineyard Wind, the New Bedford-based subsidiary of a Danish renewable energy company, bought two offshore wind lease areas from the federal government in 2015 and 2018. During an extensive permitting process over the past two years, wind farm developers have promised that impacts from the undersea cables will have a minor to negligible effect on marine life and seafloor habitats. The project has received substantial support from environmental activists on the Island, who believe that offshore wind is the most effective way for communities in the American northeast to combat climate change.

But at the hearing on Thursday, about a dozen commercial fishermen spoke out passionately against the project, arguing that renewable energy projects shouldn’t be pursued at the potential expense of some of the world’s most fertile fishing grounds.

“I’m an advocate for renewable energy and sustainable fisheries. I just think this project is going to have way more of an impact than they are saying it is,” said John Osmers, an Island commercial fisherman. “Who knows what we’re going to disturb and what species of marine life we’re going to damage with this project? I’d like to for there to be renewable energy, I just don’t think this is the way.”

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette

Anglers want more say in offshore wind projects

July 1, 2019 — As the charter fishing vessel Seven B’s V relentlessly pounded through 2-foot chop, the slowly revolving blades of five offshore wind turbines rose out of the bank of morning fog and drizzle. Three miles off the southeast corner of Block Island, these turbines supply power to the island, replacing diesel generators that burned a million gallons of fuel each year and emitted 40,000 tons of CO2 annually into the atmosphere.

But a beneficial byproduct of these 390-foot-tall turbines is hidden beneath the waves.

Fish.

Soon after the turbines were installed in 2016, algae and other sea vegetation started growing on the 90 feet of support columns underwater. Mussels followed, then fish.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Fishermen face uphill battle in lawsuit over New York wind site

July 1, 2019 — Fishermen and the city of New Bedford are facing an uphill battle in their fight against a New York offshore wind location after losing a lawsuit in September.

Attorney David Frulla, who represents the Fisheries Survival Fund and other plaintiffs in the case, said he was disappointed at the court decision but has not given up.

“I just don’t think the judge understood that these leases aren’t theoretical, that they actually confer rights,” he said.

The Fisheries Survival Fund is leading a dozen plaintiffs. They sued the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in 2016, saying the agency had not done enough to seek alternatives to important fishing grounds.

United States District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan in September granted the federal government’s motion for summary judgment, meaning she believed they made their case as a matter of law, without a trial.

The plaintiffs filed a motion to amend the decision, which is still pending.

Mayor Jon Mitchell said Friday that the city shares the disappointment of the other plaintiffs but believes there are strong grounds for the judge to reconsider.

“The decisions made by federal agencies about what happens in New York waters have major implications for New Bedford fishermen, so we have no choice but to fight when we believe our interests are not being taken into account,” he said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Fishermen say Vineyard Wind’s turbine relocation makes no difference

June 28, 2019 — Vineyard Wind’s decision to move three turbines farther away from Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket makes no significant difference to the preservation of fishing grounds, fisheries sources say.

The offshore wind company announced Monday that it had removed three of the 84 planned turbines from the north end of the grid and placed them elsewhere among its 106 approved turbine locations.

The south side of the Islands, where the change was made, is a prime squid fishing ground.

Katie Almeida, fisheries policy analyst for Rhode Island squid dealer The Town Dock, told The Standard-Times the move will do little to help the industry.

“The removal of the turbines gives a very small portion of our traditional fishing grounds back, however we still don’t know how construction and operation are going to affect squid in and around that lease area,” she said.

With spacing of Vineyard Wind turbines starting at eight-tenths of a mile apart, the space represents a few square miles. The wind farm is about 14 miles from shore.

The company said it moved the turbines to limit visibility from the Nantucket Historic District and Chappaquiddick and reduce the impact on fishing.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

NEW YORK: The Push Is On For More Wind Farms Off the South Fork

June 27, 2019 — Three wind energy development companies have asked the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to make the federally controlled sea floor off the South Fork available for wind farm leases.

The BOEM is currently considering whether to create new lease areas for wind farm development on the sea floor in several large sectors off the shores of Long Island and New Jersey available to would-be wind farm developers.

Last year, the agency put out a “call” to developers for nominations of possible new wind farm locations—effectively asking development companies to point to areas where they would be interested in putting wind farms. The call areas are regions of sea floor where conditions are suitable for the placement of turbines—bounded by depth contours, shipping lanes and legal boundaries that cleaved the space into four sectors.

One of the four sectors that BOEM is considering lies directly south of the entire South Fork. Called “Fairways North” in BOEM documents, the sector starts about 18 miles south of the South Fork and extends out to more than 30 miles from shore in some portions. It stretches from approximately south of Moriches Inlet east to approximately south of Montauk Point.

Read the full story at the Sag Harbor Express