Saving Seafood

Offshore wind farms could “destroy” Delaware’s coastal tourism, Caesar Rodney Institute claims

October 28, 2019 — The Caesar Rodney Institute’s Center for Energy Competitiveness has petitioned Governor John Carney to take action, arguing that a wind farm off the coast of Delaware would “destroy” the state’s coastal tourism.

“In a few years the world’s largest industrial wind turbines will fill the horizon from Rehoboth Beach to Fenwick Island at six times the height of typical cell phone towers,” the institute wrote in a letter sent to the Governor.

“My research is showing offshore wind projects could destroy our beach economy,” Dave Stevenson, Director for the Center for Energy Competitiveness with the Caesar Rodney explained. “Tourists visit Eastern Sussex for the ocean, and a pristine view to the horizon is critical to that beach enjoyment.”

Ørsted, an energy company based in Denmark, is the company pushing the project and partnering with Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), who’s allowing the project to move forward after the company promised to invest as much as $18 million in Fenwick Island State Park.

Read the full story at WGMD

Environmental groups protest oil exploration

February 7, 2018 — Surrounded by protest signs against drilling for oil off Delaware’s coastline, environmentalists and other concerned citizens from across the state gathered in Dover to voice their concerns over a proposal by the federal government to open East Coast waters to offshore drilling.

In early January, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said the majority of federal waters could be open to offshore oil and gas exploration if a revised National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program is accepted. The five-year leasing program runs from 2019 to 2024.

Organized by Marine Education Research and Rehabilitation Institute Executive Director Suzanne Thurman, the Jan. 18 protest attracted nearly three dozen people who packed into a small conference room of the Holiday Inn.

Among them was Lewes Mayor Ted Becker. Pointing to Sussex County’s two strongest industries, agriculture and tourism, he said an accident would affect everyone. There’s a lot of concern about what this potentially could mean, Becker said.

The rally occurred as the federal government’s Bureau of Energy Management was hosting a public meeting in the hotel’s large conference room. It was one of 23 meetings scheduled throughout the country. A couple of days before the Dover meeting, BOEM staff met in Annapolis.

Beyond the obvious potential environmental impacts, speakers also addressed other issues, like employee safety and styles of oil platforms.

John Doerfler, representing Delaware Surfrider, said the proposed draft puts oil company employees at great risk because it rolls back safety measures. “They’re putting the lives of the men and women who work for those companies at risk, just so they can fatten their pockets,” Doerfler said.

Read the full story at the Cape Gazette