June 21, 2018 — A flurry of planned and proposed offshore wind projects in the Northeastern United States is causing anxiety among fishermen, who are worried that the turbines will disrupt marine life, make fishing more difficult, and harm their livelihoods.
The United States’ nascent offshore wind industry is predicted to grow rapidly in the coming years as states create and follow through on requirements to source a greater portion of their energy from clean sources, such as offshore wind.
The first offshore wind project in the U.S. – just five turbines generating 30 megawatts of electricity – came online in December 2016 near Block Island, Rhode Island. In the years to come, many more turbines are expected to crop up on the horizon.
Some fishermen worry the turbines will be too close together, making navigating difficult and possibly dangerous. Others are concerned the turbines will affect ocean currents, and the larvae that are swept up in them. And still others fret about the possibility that undersea electricity transmission will cause behavioral changes in bottom-dwelling creatures.
Earlier this month, a new lobbying group called the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance formed to represent the East Coast fishing industry in discussions over permitting of offshore wind development.