Saving Seafood

Economic Impact

Wind industry deals with blowback from Orsted scrapping 2 wind power projects in New Jersey

November 1, 2023 — Wind energy developer Orsted is writing off $4 billion, due largely to the cancellation of two large offshore wind projects in New Jersey whose financial challenges mirror those facing the nascent industry.

It added fresh uncertainty to an industry seen by supporters as a way to help end the burning of planet-warming fossil fuels, but derided by opponents as inherently unworkable without massive financial subsidies.

The Danish company said Tuesday night it is scrapping its Ocean Wind I and II projects off the coast of southern New Jersey due to problems with supply chains, higher interest rates, and a failure to obtain the amount of tax credits the company wanted.

“These are obviously some very tough decisions,” Mads Nipper, Orsted’s CEO, said on an earnings conference call Wednesday.

He said the company, the world’s largest offshore wind developer, decided “to de-risk the most painful part of our portfolio, and that is the U.S.”

That statement went straight to the heart about concerns over the financial viability of the offshore wind industry in the northeastern U.S., which is in its infancy but has extensive plans from New England to the Carolinas.

Some projects already have been canceled, and many offshore wind developers are seeking better terms from governments with whom they have already contracted. New York rejected such a request two weeks ago.

New Jersey approved a tax break for Orsted in July, letting it keep federal tax credits that otherwise would have gone to ratepayers.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

American Shrimp Processors Association push for duties on imported shrimp from four countries

October 26, 2023 — The American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA), an organization representing the interests of U.S. wild-caught warmwater shrimp processing, has filed trade petitions seeking additional antidumping and countervailing duties on imported shrimp.

The trade petitions, which the ASPA said are intended to address unfair dumping and illegal subsidies, consist of a request for antidumping duties on imported frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador and Indonesia, and countervailing duties on imported shrimp from Ecuador, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trustee overseeing Blue Harvest bankruptcy planning auction of vessels, permits on 6 November

October 18, 2023 — The trustee overseeing Blue Harvest Fisheries’ Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings has filed a motion to proceed with an auction of all the company’s remaining assets on 6 November, as some of the company’s fleet is reportedly already being scrapped.

Blue Harvest filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on 8 September, soon after the company shut down all of its operations. Chapter 7 bankruptcy means the company has officially ceased all of its operations and will be sold off to pay creditors, many of whom will likely see little compensation after what is left of Blue Harvest’s property is sold.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Alaskan seafood nabs higher profile at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena

October 18, 2023 — The Bristol Bay Native Corporation and the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association are getting a higher profile for Alaskan seafood at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

Timed with the Seattle Kraken’s first home game of the season on 17 October – a National Hockey League franchise that plays at the arena – BBNC’s Bristol Bay Wild Market is opening in a new, more prominent location in the arena.

Read the full article SeafoodSource

Cooke subsidiary continues expansion with third acquisition in two months

October 15, 2023 — Bioriginal Food and Science Corp., a subsidiary of Cooke Inc., has continued to expand with the acquisition of Pflanzenölmühle Kroppenstedt, which operates as Kroppenstedter Ölmühle.

Kroppenstedter Ölmühle is a family-owned mill specializing in the pressing of plant-based oil products from conventional and organic sources. The Kroppenstedt, Germany-based firm was established in 1922 and develops and produces vegetable oils, press cakes, oil cake flour, and refines vegetable oils for clients in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Kroppenstedter Ölmühle operates three plants at two different sites that have different capacities including receiving seeds, bulk storage, pressing, milling, oil refining, and logistics. The company also has an internal laboratory that develops new technologies for processing oil seeds, Cooke said.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

The headwinds and tailwinds affecting offshore wind in the Northeast, explained

October 5, 2023 — There’s a lot happening in the offshore wind world right now, especially in the Northeast. And depending on what articles you read, the industry is booming or teetering on financial failure.

The reality is probably somewhere in between. There are headwinds and tailwinds, producing what one person in the industry described as “whiplash in headlines.”

Making sense of it all can be tough. But the stakes are high: Climate change is happening and electricity demand in the region is projected to rise precipitously over the next decade as people buy electric vehicles and heat pumps.

Several New England states, plus New York and New Jersey, are counting on offshore wind to help meet their decarbonization and electrification goals — not to mention banking on the industry to create clean energy jobs and revitalize once-thriving port cities like New Bedford and New London.

A year and a half ago, things looked rosy for offshore wind. States signed 20-year contracts for cheap electricity. Companies announced or started to build manufacturing facilities to help create a domestic supply chain for the industry. Even the Cape Wind controversy of the 2010s seemed more and more like a hiccup in the story of the American offshore wind revolution.

But then came a global inflation crisis, new supply chain disruptions and a growing movement of people calling for a pause on offshore wind development as dead humpback whales washed up on beaches.

Read the full article at wbur

3 New England states join together for offshore wind power projects, aiming to lower costs

October 5, 2023 — Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island will procure future wind energy projects together rather than separately as part of a joint agreement the states’ governors announced Wednesday — the first such multi-state agreement in the nation.

The partnership could lead to the three states acquiring clean energy at more competitive and affordable rates, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said. Energy from off-shore wind projects is seen as key to meeting each states’ climate change goals.

“We can go further when we work together,” said Lamont, a Democrat.

The new multistate agreement, which could become a model for other parts of the country, comes as some offshore wind developers are seeking to renegotiate contracts they signed with states in 2019 and 2020 when costs were lower. Those costs include the price of steel needed for wind turbines and higher interest rates.

Read the full article at WSBTV

More U.S. Wind Farms Terminate Power Agreements Due to Financial Pressures

October 5, 2023 — The U.S. continues to push forward with the permitting process for the development of offshore wind energy resources while evidence continues to mount regarding the changing economics of the sector. Developers for several of the earlier proposed projects that are now in the later stages of permitting have highlighted the mounting financial challenges for their projects saying it would jeopardize their development.

Avangrid, a Connecticut-based company owned by Spain’s Iberdrola Group on Monday confirmed that it has reached its second agreement with regulators to terminate its previously approved Power Purchase Agreements for wind farms it is planning for Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The company contends this is the fastest path toward developing the wind farms.

The new development comes for the Pack City Wind project, a planned 804 MW wind farm that would be located about 30 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard on the Outer Continental Shelf and in the first phase supplying power to Connecticut in the Bridgeport area. The company was awarded the contract for the project in 2019 and in 2020 two regulated electric utilities, Eversource Energy and United Illuminating, entered into the 20-year agreements for the power from the project which was targeted to come online in 2025. The project is projected to supply 14 percent of Connecticut’s electric power needs.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

US Offshore Wind Chiefs Blast Barriers to Progress

October 4, 2023 — Welcome to Energy Daily, our guide to the energy and commodities powering the global economy. Today, we look at the obstacles to growth in the US offshore wind industry. And in oil, Saudi Arabia and Russia are sticking with supply curbs to the end of the year. To get this newsletter sent straight to your inbox, you can sign up here.

“We are all in this perfect storm.”

That’s the assessment of the US offshore wind industry from Equinor ASA’s sector head, Molly Morris. And she’s not alone.

At the American Clean Power Association’s conference in Boston this week, Ocean Winds North America’s US chief, Michael Brown, used the same well-worn metaphor, while Orsted A/S North America boss David Hardy bemoaned a “storm of inflation.”

Read the full article at Bloomberg