Kathy Hochul Archives - Saving Seafood

NEW YORK: Environmentalists Outraged Over Hochul’s Horseshoe Crab Bill Veto

December 27, 2024 — Environmentalists are outraged over Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent decision to veto the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act, which prohibits the taking of horseshoe crabs from New York waters. The legislation would have allowed the populations to recover and ensured the survival of the important species, advocated said.

In her veto message, Hochul wrote: “This bill would prohibit the taking of horseshoe crabs for commercial or biomedical purposes and also extend the authority of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to manage crabs.”

She added: “DEC has significant rules and regulations regarding commercial and recreational fishing in the state and adheres to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission management plans to ensure healthy coastal fishery resources. DEC has already announced four lunar closures for the upcoming year to address concerns about overharvesting the horseshoe crab population.”

Also, Hochul said: “This bill could have unintended consequences on the management of other species such as whelk and eel, and could harm the commercial fishing industry and impair advancements in the biomedical field. While this bill is well-intentioned, the management of marine species is better left to the experts at DEC.”

She urged the legislature to restore DEC’s specific authority to regulate crabs, and said she was “directing DEC to evaluate and implement further administrative measures to protect this species pursuant to its broad authority to protect and regulate the state’s marine resources. Therefore, I am constrained to veto this bill.”

Read the full article at The Patch

NEW YORK: NY tentatively approves 3 offshore wind farms, including Ravenswood project

October 25, 2023 — Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration gave a tentative green light Tuesday to three new wind farms off New York City’s shores, including one project that would shift the hulking Ravenswood Generating Station in Long Island City to 100% renewable energy.

The long-awaited announcement marks a major step in New York state’s continuing shift to clean energy, as it works to meet its legally mandated goal of generatng 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. But it also comes after Hochul vetoed a bill last week that would have fast-tracked a similar wind farm off of Long Island, and took another action in recent weeks that drew condemnation from wind-power advocates.

Once they come online in 2030, the new wind farms are expected to generate about 4 gigawatts of power, according to the state. That number jumps to 6.4 gigawatts when combined with 22 additional land-based projects also approved on Tuesday, which the Hochul administration says is enough to account for about 12% of the state’s energy needs.

“This industry continues to just blossom, and we’re continuing to make sure that we make the investments now,” Hochul told reporters after making the announcement in Long Island City.

Read the full article at the Gothamist

NEW YORK: Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoes bill that would expedite planned wind farm off Long Island

October 24, 2023 — A major renewable energy project off Long Island suffered a big blow on Friday when Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a controversial bill that would’ve expedited a planned wind farm off Long Beach.

Residents concerned about electromagnetic fields and construction won a victory against landing an offshore wind transmission line there.

“They’ve never done this on a community like this. We were the first one, and we were essentially gonna be the guinea pig of this process going forward and we weren’t having it,” said Tim Kramer, a member of Protect Our Coast LINY.

Read the full article at CBS

Orsted, Eversource Propose New York Offshore Wind Project

January 27, 2023 — Ørsted and Eversource have submitted a joint proposal in response to New York State’s third round of offshore wind solicitations. Together, Ørsted and Eversource are building South Fork Wind, New York’s first offshore wind farm, which broke ground early last year and will be operational with 130 MW in 2023, and Sunrise Wind, a 924 MW project that will deliver clean energy to New York in late 2025.

In July 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced New York’s third competitive offshore wind solicitation for a minimum of 2,000 MW of offshore wind, which will power at least 1.5 million additional New York homes with clean, affordable energy. This third solicitation marks additional progress toward achieving New York State’s Climate Act mandate to secure 70% of the State’s electricity from renewable energy by 2030 and at least 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035.

Read the full story at North American Windpower

New York’s largest offshore wind farm takes key step

November 18, 2022 — New York regulators have granted approval for a 25-mile transmission that will carry power from the state’s largest offshore wind farm to a substation in Suffolk County, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office on Thursday announced.

The transmission line approval by the New York State Public Service Commission is an important development for the proposed Sunrise Wind Farm off the coast of Long Island.

Read the full article at NY1

New York breaks ground on 1st offshore wind farm, would be largest in U.S.

February 14, 2022 — The construction of a dozen wind turbines 35 miles off Long Island’s eastern tip has begun, officials said Friday, marking the state’s first offshore wind project launch.

The South Fork Wind Farm is planned to sit south of Rhode Island and send power to East Hampton. It could also put New York into rare air: Gov. Hochul has said the state will boast the largest offshore wind farm in the Western Hemisphere after the project’s completion.

The farm is projected to power up to 70,000 homes. New York is also whipping up several larger offshore wind plants that the government estimated will collectively power more than 2 million homes and create thousands of jobs.

“If you ask what the energy future looks like, I say: The answer my friends is blowing in the wind,” Gov. Hochul said in a rhetorical nod to Bob Dylan at the Friday groundbreaking ceremony. “This is just the beginning.”

Read the full story at the New York Daily News

Final approval for South Fork Wind project

January 21, 2022 — The South Fork Wind energy project 35 miles east of Montauk, N.Y., won final approval Jan. 19 to begin construction, lining it up to be the second offshore wind turbine array in federal waters.

The federal Bureau of Offshore Energy Management signed off on the construction and operations plan for South Fork, setting out a 1-nautical mile spacing between a dozen 11-megawatt Siemens-Gamesa turbines and some areas set aside in the federal lease area to preserve bottom habitat for marine species.

Installing monopile foundations and turbines is scheduled for summer 2023. The 132 MW project by developers Ørsted and Eversource is seen as a keystone by New York State energy planners for bringing future power to Long Island – potentially for 70,000 homes by the end of 2023 – as they look to even bigger projects offshore to feed the New York City metro area.

“This milestone underscores the tremendous opportunity we have to create a new industry from the ground up to drive our green energy economy, deliver clean power to millions of homes and create good jobs across the state,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement after the BOEM approval. “As we tackle climate change head on and transition to a clean economy, these are the projects that will power our future.”

BOEM and wind developers continue to face fierce resistance from the Northeast commercial fishing industry. In December the Texas Public Policy Institute filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of fishermen in New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, charging that BOEM bypassed requirements for environmental review when it approved the construction and operations plan for Vineyard Wind, the first wind project in federal waters to be built east of the South Fork tract.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Governor Hochul Announces Second Round of Federal Funding to Provide $5.7 Million in COVID-19 Relief to New York’s Marine Fishing Industry

December 2, 2021 — The following was released by the office of Governor Kathy Hochul:

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced an additional $5.7 million in federal funding is available from New York’s Marine Fisheries Relief Program, established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, to provide financial relief for New York’s marine fishing industry. Eligible seafood, commercial marine fishing, marine aquaculture, and marine recreational for-hire fishing businesses are eligible to apply for the funding beginning Dec. 1. This funding is in addition to the $6.7 million in assistance provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, for a total of $12.4 million in aid for New York’s seafood, marine commercial, and for-hire fishing industries after excessive business losses in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt New York’s commercial fishing industry which is reliant on vibrant tourism, dining, and recreational opportunities,” Governor Hochul said. “This funding is essential to assist businesses and coastal communities that have long played a vital role in the State’s economic success. My administration remains committed to supporting marine fishing and seafood industries here in New York and will work tirelessly to ensure financial support is provided to all eligible candidates.”

Read the full release here