Saving Seafood

New wind strategy advanced to protect right whales

February 1, 2024 — The federal government announced a new strategy aimed at protecting the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale while the development of offshore wind ramps up.

The 78-page strategy from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and NOAA Fisheries, released Thursday, Jan. 25, lays out ways to continue evaluating and mitigating the potential effects on the whales and their habitat.

North Atlantic right whales are an endangered species, with an estimated 360 individuals remaining, a population that has been reported to be on the decline. That decline has been felt locally, as a juvenile right whale was found dead in Edgartown on Monday.

While NOAA reports that entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes are the leading cause of death for the whales, the agency says that ocean noise is also a threat to the species, and sources can include energy exploration and development.

Read the full article at MV Times

NOAA examining rope embedded in dead right whale on Martha’s Vineyard

January 31, 2024 — A piece of rope removed from a dead female North Atlantic right whale on Jan. 28 is undergoing analysis as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other experts work to determine a cause of death.

The dead whale, presumed to be a juvenile by its size, was reported Sunday afternoon near Joseph Sylvia State Beach on Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. NOAA Fisheries and the International Fund for Animal Welfare worked to respond to the stranding with Edgartown Police, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

Massachusetts state law enforcement officers collected a piece of rope that was found entangled around and embedded in the whale’s tail, turning it over to NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement, according to a statement from the agency. “Authorized members of the National Marine Mammal Stranding Response Network are planning to perform a necropsy (an animal autopsy) to investigate the cause of death as logistics allow,” according to NOAA.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Power up: Vineyard Wind sends electricity to the grid

January 7, 2024 — New England’s first large offshore wind farm has delivered electricity to the grid.

In a test Tuesday, shortly before midnight, Vineyard Wind sent about five megawatts of power ashore in Barnstable from a single turbine, according to project officials.

More testing needs to be done before the turbine can be fully operational, according to the project’s two parent companies, Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. They said they expect the first five turbines, which were completed in early December, to be running in the early part of this year.

When fully built, Vineyard Wind 1, located about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, will have 62 turbines of 13 megawatts each and generate enough power for more than 400,000 homes.

Maggie Downey, administrator of renewable energy provider Cape Light Compact, said the powering-up of Vineyard Wind represents a turning point in meeting the state’s climate goals.

“I think it’s a huge moment for everybody that lives in Massachusetts,” she said. “We need the electrons on our grid. We are all seeing the impacts of climate change, and this is a giant step forward to helping us and the Commonwealth achieve their state goals.”

Vineyard Wind hoped to deliver power by the end of 2023, but missed that mark.

Read the full article at GBH

MASSACHUSETTS: Vineyard Wind Completes First Wind Turbine Installation Milestone

October 19, 2023 — After weeks of negative developments and reports questioning the viability of the U.S. offshore wind industry, Iberdrola Group’s Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners are highlighting advancements at the Vineyard Ward 1 project as a demonstration of the industry’s progress. A little over a month after the first turbine was moved from the staging facility in Massachusetts, the installation was completed.

The first of 62 GE Haliade-X Wind Turbine Generator has been successfully installed at the site which is 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. Each of the turbines will have a capacity of 13 MW with the project slated to have a total capacity of 806 MW. The companies note that the fully assembled machine, which is comprised of one tower, three blades, and one nacelle, represents the largest turbine in the Western world.

“This is a monumental achievement and a proud day for offshore wind in the United States that proves this industry is real and demonstrates Avangrid’s steadfast commitment to helping the Northeast region meet its clean energy and climate goals,” said Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra. “While this is a landmark for this first-in-the-nation project and the industry, we remain focused on the important work ahead to continue the successful installation campaign of these massive turbines and deliver the first power to Massachusetts homes and businesses this year.”

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

MASSACHUSETTS: Aquinnah reaches wind mitigation agreement

August 17, 2023 — Officials with the town of Aquinnah say they have reached an agreement over mitigation funding with the developer of the closest, and likely largest, offshore wind farm planned for nearby waters.

Orsted, the developer of Revolution Wind, is expected to provide the town with over a million dollars to fund the renovation of the Gay Head Lighthouse and other historic structures in the area.

The agreement, while not signed by either side yet, comes after several months of negotiations.

While the town is pleased to have gotten something from the developers, town officials say they didn’t get all they wanted.

“With any agreement, there is some give and take on both sides,” Aquinnah town administrator Jeffrey Madison said Wednesday. “It is what it is. We’re happy that there is some consideration being given to our community.”

Still, funding from Revolution, combined with funding from other offshore wind companies, will help make the Aquinnah Cliffs more accessible. But the majority of funding will also go toward needed repairs to the glass and steel framing of the lighthouse. Madison said that the project would be too big for the town to take on itself.

Read the full article at MV Times

Vineyard Wind wind plans to deliver power in mid-October

August 3, 2023 — The first clean wind power generated by the Vineyard Wind 1 project is expected to flow onto the regional grid by mid-October and the first-in-the-nation offshore wind project should be fully operational by this time next year, project officials said Wednesday during a boat tour of the construction.

Project developers have maintained for years that the $4 billion project they are building about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard would start to generate cleaner energy by the end of 2023, but they told a group of state lawmakers, clean energy advocates, organized labor representatives and others that the target is now mid-October, or just over two months from now.

At first, the project will send power generated by a string of six turbines onto the grid, totaling about 78 megawatts, with plans to ramp the project up to between 200 and 300 MW by the end of the year and full commercial operations of 806 MW expected by mid-2024, according to Sy Oytan, Avangrid’s chief operating officer for offshore wind.

Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, began offshore construction activities in June by setting the foundations for the 62 turbines that will make up the project that has been years in the making.

On Wednesday, about 15 representatives and two senators were among those who got to see the progress of that construction from aboard the Captain John and Son II, which was chartered for the tour by Avangrid, the Environmental League of Massachusetts and the New England for Offshore Wind Coalition.

When they are fully assembled, each of Vineyard Wind 1’s 62 turbines will stretch about 850 feet above the Atlantic Ocean — taller than any building in New England. There was not much to see in the way of towers or turbines Wednesday — those on the boat tour saw a series of foundations with “transition pieces” sticking up out of the water, each arranged one nautical mile away from others in a grid pattern.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light