Saving Seafood

New York: How fishermen could thwart Cuomo’s offshore wind master plan

April 16, 2018 — Earlier this month, hundreds of developers, many from the well-developed wind energy industry in Europe, attended the United States’ largest technical wind power conference, which was held in Princeton, New Jersey. Dozens of public officials, including Zinke, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and NYSERDA President and CEO Alicia Barton, expounded on how to best seize the offshore opportunities.

Under Cuomo, New York has played a leading role in selecting the offshore areas for wind development, overseeing 20 research studies, working closely with BOEM and conducting “unprecedented outreach” to stakeholders, Doreen Harris, NYSERDA’s director of large-scale renewables, told City & State. “Obviously, this becomes a federal process at this point,” Harris said. “But we believe New York’s work provides the solid foundation for areas that are the most favorable.”

Indeed, after NYSERDA requested that BOEM open vast tracts of seafloor for leasing, Zinke told attendees at the April wind power conference that BOEM was opening an additional 2,711 square miles for potential wind farm development, more than 20 times larger than the Empire Wind lease area in the New York Bight, a broad expanse of ocean south of Long Island and east of New Jersey. It seemed to be everything NYSERDA asked for and more. The decision opens the possibility of rows and rows of wind turbines the height of skyscrapers plotted out in an area twice the size of Long Island.

There’s just one scallop-sized problem standing in the way.

The combined 2,836 square miles where BOEM is either leasing or seeking information and nominations for commercial wind leases is worth hundreds of millions – if not billions – of dollars in revenue to the scallop industry over the life of a 25-year wind lease, the scallopers’ lawyers say. The impact on the scallop fisheries would be far worse than they first feared, if those areas are developed.

“It puts an exclamation mark on all our concerns,” said David Frulla, the lead lawyer on the scallopers’ lawsuit. “We’re not trying to stop offshore wind. It is just that this is right at the heart of where the fishing is.”

The Fisheries Survival Fund, an advocacy group that represents the scallopers’ interests in their lawsuit against BOEM, is arguing that the federal offshore wind leasing procedure gave away some of the most productive scallop beds in the world and failed to evaluate alternative options appropriately.

In particular, they are rebelling against the Empire Wind project. The envisioned 194 towers whirling above the waves would make it impossible to safely fish there, they say.

Read the full story at City & State New York   

 

Fishing industry proposes ‘reset’ for offshore wind energy

April 13, 2018 — With Massachusetts moving faster toward offshore wind energy, a national coalition of commercial fishing groups this week urged state officials to limit a first project to no more than 400 megawatts, and set up a new system for the seafood and offshore wind industries to jointly plan a way forward.

“We are pragmatic and we understand that we do not ‘own’ the ocean where these wind farms are being sited,” the National Coalition for Fishing Communities wrote in an April 9 letter to Massachusetts Gov. Charles D. Baker Jr.

“But we do not believe that a renewable resource like wind energy should be allowed to displace another renewable resource like wild fisheries. To guard against that outcome, a measured, restrained approach to the initial project size is best,” the letter stated. “It is irresponsible to allow construction of sizable wind farms without a deep understanding of their impacts.”

This month Massachusetts officials are looking to select an offshore wind development proposal to fit their plans for adding more renewable energy sources to the state’s power mix. The ill-fated Cape Wind plan to build turbines in Nantucket Sound was defeated by strenuous local opposition to siting in nearshore waters, and now proposals are over the horizon on federal offshore leases.

Read the full story at the National Fisherman

 

New Jersey Revives Plan for Wind Farm Off Atlantic City Coast

April 13, 2018 — New Jersey lawmakers have revived a long-stalled plan to build a wind farm off the coast of Atlantic City.

Both houses of the state Legislature approved a bill Thursday allowing the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to reconsider a 24-megawatt project by Fishermen’s Energy LLC that was rejected under Republican Governor Chris Christie. The measure gives regulators 90 days to act on Fishermen’s application, which will be filed in May, the company’s secretary Paul Gallagher said.

While Christie shunned offshore wind, his Democratic successor Governor Phil Murphy has a goal for the state to have 3.5 gigawatts operating by 2030.

Read the full story at Bloomberg

 

Jon Mitchell: Wind Developers Must Take Fishermen Seriously

April 12, 2018 — Earlier this week, fishing industry officials sent a letter to Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker asking for a larger role in the decision making when it comes to granting the state’s first offshore wind contract.

The letter particularly asked for the New Bedford Port Authority to act as the mediator between commercial fishing and wind energy, and in his weekly appearance on WBSM, Mayor Jon Mitchell said that request makes “all the sense in the world.”

“The place where these two industries intersect more than anywhere else will be New Bedford,” he said, noting he agrees that the fishermen haven’t been given enough of a voice. “That’s why we’re prepared to do something about it.”

Mitchell, who as mayor is also chair of the Port Authority, says the fishermen have valid concerns that he feels may have fallen on deaf ears.

“It has to do with safe navigation through wind farms, and with the siting of new wind farms that might intrude on traditional fishing grounds,” he said. “Wind developers have to do a better job of taking fishermen seriously, and we’re going to work on that. We’re going to make sure that they are taken more seriously.”

Read the full story at WBSM

Bay State Wind Announces Plans For Grants to Protect New England Fisheries, Whales

April 12, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Bay State Wind, an offshore wind developer, announced on Tuesday that they plan on providing more than $2 million in grants for research and programs to protect New England’s fisheries and whale populations.

The grants would be spread out amongst different organizations. The developer plans to offer $1 million for a Bay State Wind Marine Science Grant Program for directed fisheries resources research on the Bay State Wind lease area. Woods Hole Oceanography Institute, which has been working on a ropeless fishing concept to protect whales, would receive a $500,000 multi-year grant to use for the development of advanced whale detection systems. The New England Aquarium Right Whale Research Project and the Lobster Foundation of Massachusetts would each receive $250,000 to prevent gear entanglement of the North Atlantic Right Whale. Bay State Wind also plans on offering grants to Whale Alert Project, Center for Coastal Studies and the National Ocean Science Bowl/ Blue Lobster Bowl.

“These grants demonstrate Bay State Wind’s commitment to environmental responsibility,” Bay State Wind environmental manager and whale biologist Laura Morse said in a press release. “We are taking steps to strengthen the population of the North Atlantic Right Whale, which is weakened by boat strikes and fishing gear entanglements. In addition, Bay State Wind will address two of the main threats to marine life – rising ocean temperatures and ocean acidification – with the clean energy that is wind farms will produce.”

Bay State Wind is currently in the running to supply offshore wind power to Massachusetts, a hot topic for the Massachusetts fishing industry. Just this week a group of fishing industry officials set a letter to Governor Charlie Baker suggesting changes to “make offshore wind more palatable.” The group suggested that the state’s first offshore windfarm be “modest in size and scope” so that the impacts on commercial fishing can be studied.

Bay State Wind, which is a joint venture between Ørsted, the offshore wind global leader, and Eversource, a New England transmission builder, released a statement reaffirming their commitment to the fishing industry in Massachusetts: “We are the only project that has hired a marine biologist to ensure that we protect marine species and do not interfere with migration patterns, and we will continue to work closely with the fighting industry in the South Coast to minimize disruption and to preserve fish stocks for future generations.”

This story originally appeared on Seafood News, it is republished with permission.

 

Massachusetts: Fishing industry reps express offshore wind resistance

April 11, 2018 — Fishing industry representatives from all along the East Coast sent an urgent missive to Governor Charlie Baker on Monday, asking him to delay this month’s selection of the company that will construct the nation’s first industrial-scale offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts.

The National Coalition of Fishing Communities (NCFC) cites three key concerns: the project size, the lack of study on potential impacts, and a lack of communication with the fishing industry from potential developers.

Three companies have bid to construct wind farms in the ocean south of Martha’s Vineyard, as part of a roughly 1,600-megawatt procurement mandated by a 2016 energy diversification law.

One of the companies, Vineyard Wind, has proposed projects capable of generating 400 megawatts or 800 megawatts. Vineyard Wind is a partnership between Vineyard Power, Denmark-based Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid Renewables.

There are two other companies in the running: Deepwater Wind, which built America’s first offshore wind farm near Block Island, R.I., and Bay State Wind, a partnership between Denmark-based Ørsted and Eversource.

Read the full story at the Martha’s Vineyard Times

 

Massachusetts: Hoping for a state contract, Bay State Wind offers more than $2 million in environmental research grants

April 11, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — In what could be the final weeks before Massachusetts awards its first offshore wind contract, Bay State Wind has announced more than $2 million in grants it would provide for fisheries research and whale protection, contingent upon Bay State Wind winning a contract.

The grants include:

• $1 million for a marine science grant program to be administered by Bay State Wind. It would fund research in the Bay State Wind lease area designed to address specific questions and concerns raised by the fishing industry.

• $500,000 to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for a multi-year grant to develop advanced whale detection systems.

• $250,000 each to the New England Aquarium right whale research project and the Lobster Foundation of Massachusetts to prevent gear entanglement of the North Atlantic right whale.

The deadline for the state and electric companies to announce one or more winners of offshore wind contracts is April 23, but the decision could be delayed, State House News Service reported last week.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Massachusetts: Gov. Baker vows to hear voice of fishermen regarding offshore wind

April 11, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Gov. Charlie Baker sat about 1,000 feet from the city’s waterfront as he discussed various aspects of the state with The Standard-Times on Tuesday. The proximity to the most valuable port in the United States wasn’t lost on him.

“I do not want (the fishing industry’s) voice to get lost, period,” Baker said. “And it won’t be.”

Through the National Coalition for Fishing Communities, scores of fishermen and organizations sent a letter to Baker on Monday to emphasize their concerns regarding the implementation of offshore wind facilities in areas where they make a living.

“Based on the past several months of interaction with the offshore wind industry, we do not have confidence that our interests are being adequately taken into account, nor will be in the future,” the letter said.

The letter also calls for the New Bedford Port Authority to take on the role of a central facilitator in discussion between the industries.

“I’m happy to have them as part of the mix, but there are a lot of people at the state and federal level who have an oar in this water as well, but, yeah, happy to have them as part of the mix,” Baker said.

The letter addressed to Baker outlined three aspects of concern held by the fishing industry: the project side and number of turbines; a lack of plan/process to study impacts; and no coordination or communication among projects.

Read the full industry letter here

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Connecticut: Proposed wind farms off of New London worry local fishermen

April 10, 2018 — Fishermen were quick to react to the possibility of another wind farm off the New England coast.

Last week, Ørsted and Eversource announced a joint venture and has submitted a bid to build Connecticut’s first offshore wind farm, in response to the state’s request for proposals for offshore wind energy generation.

The approximately 200-megawatt project – Constitution Wind – would be the first of its kind to serve the state of Connecticut and would be located in federal waters 65 miles off shore.

Through emails, News 8 has learned local fishermen claim they have already had damaged equipment from the Block Island Wind Farm and they fear another one could cause more trouble for them.

Read the full story at WTNH

 

Massachusetts: Fishing groups back New Bedford as wind liaison

April 10, 2018 — BOSTON — Fishing officials are calling for the New Bedford Port Authority to be the “central facilitator” for discussions between the offshore wind industry and fishermen.

Monday’s letter to Gov. Charlie Baker was sent by the National Coalition for Fishing Communities, a project of Saving Seafood, a group that New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell previously said was created by industry players in his city.

New Bedford is both the nation’s top fishing port as measured by the value of catch, mostly owing to the scallop fishery, and offshore wind developers have agreed to use the Whaling City’s harbor facilities as a staging area, so it is on its way to becoming an offshore wind hub, as well.

In the letter, officials also urged him to make the state’s first offshore windfarm “as modest in size and scope as possible” so that its effects can be studied and called for a possible delay in the selection of offshore wind partners.

“Three separate, developer-led outreach efforts have been launched, and all are stumbling to produce meaningful dialogue or move us closer to real solutions in areas ranging from navigation, access, cable routes, radar interference, and gear loss,” the coalition wrote. “Equally troubling, it has become clear that offshore wind developers are unwilling or unable to coordinate their interactions with commercial fishermen to tackle issues that cut across multiple project areas.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times