January 11, 2022 — The Interior Department is expected to greenlight the first offshore wind lease sale under President Biden as soon as this week, a move that would lower the nation’s reliance on the fossil fuels that are dangerously warming the planet.
But the effort has sparked concern from the fishing industry, which contends that towering turbines in the waters off New England could harm fishermen’s catches and livelihoods. It’s the latest sign of tensions between Biden’s ambitious clean-energy agenda and industry interests concerned about its economic impact.
The details: Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is poised to issue a final sale notice for the New York Bight, a nearly 800,000-acre area of the Atlantic Ocean south of Long Island.
The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance has emerged as the fishing industry’s main voice in disputes over offshore wind. The group has argued that fishermen should receive compensation for losses caused by turbines in commercial fishing grounds.
Annie Hawkins, executive director of the alliance, told The Climate 202 that the group remains concerned about offshore wind development in the New York Bight. She said the turbines could prevent fishing altogether if they are spaced less than a mile apart.