Saving Seafood

Ninth Large Offshore Wind Farm Approved for Construction by U.S. BOEM

June 24, 2024 — The pace of approvals continues after years of review with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today approving the ninth commercial-scale offshore wind farm. The project known as Sunrise Wind is currently jointly owned by Ørsted and Eversource Energy, although Eversource has agreed to sell its shares as part of a strategy for existing offshore wind investments.

“BOEM’s approval of the Sunrise Wind project represents another step in building a thriving offshore wind energy industry,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. The bureau issued its approval for the Construction and Operation Plan today after the Department of the Interior in March 2024 published its Record of Decision on the project.

These are the final steps for federal approval for the wind farm which will have a capacity of 924 MW. Sunrise Wind also recently finalized its agreements with NYSERDA on the project’s 25-year Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificates (OREC) contract. The COP which was approved today outlines the project’s one nautical mile turbine spacing, the requirements on the construction methodology for all work occurring in federal ocean waters, and mitigation measures to protect marine habitats and species.

“Sunrise Wind is a centerpiece of New York’s clean energy vision, and with this final federal approval we can officially put the construction phase in motion,” said David Hardy, Group EVP and CEO Americas at Ørsted. “BOEM’s approval is an important milestone not just for New York but also for America’s domestic energy sector.”

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

NEW YORK: Offshore construction on Sunrise Wind set to begin this year

June 24, 2024 — Giving the green light for offshore construction of New York’s largest offshore wind farm to begin, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today announced its approval of Sunrise Wind’s plan for construction and operations. This is the project’s final approval from BOEM, following the Department of the Interior’s March 2024 Record of Decision on the project.

“BOEM’s approval of the Sunrise Wind project represents another step in building a thriving offshore wind energy industry,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. “The Biden-Harris administration continues to demonstrate its commitment to advancing responsible projects like Sunrise Wind as part of our strategy to foster good paying jobs for local communities, ignite economic development, and fight the harmful effects of climate change.”

The Sunrise Wind project—to be located south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and east of Block Island, Rhode Island—will have a total capacity of 924 MW of energy that could power more than 320,000 homes per year. The project will support more than 800 direct jobs each year during the construction phase and about 300 jobs annually during the operations phase.

Sunrise Wind will help New York achieve its mandate of 70% renewable electricity by 2030, while accelerating the state’s growing offshore wind workforce and supply chain. Sunrise Wind will create 800 direct New York jobs, thousands of indirect jobs, and economic benefits from the Capital Region to Long Island – including a $700 million investment in Suffolk County alone.

“With the final approval of Sunrise Wind and the recent completion of South Fork Wind, it is clear that New York is leading the nation in building the offshore wind industry,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “We’re grateful for the Biden Administration’s commitment to advancing clean energy projects, and New York will continue to build a green economy, create good-paying jobs, and combat the climate crisis.”

Read the full article at the Marine Log

Gulf of Maine & Norwegian fishermen voice wind concerns

June 17, 2024 — Gulf of Maine fishermen are feeling stressed as the plan for hundreds of offshore wind turbines continues to move forward. Eight leases will be held in the large area that has been fished for many generations off the New England coast. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently released the eight proposed areas that will be auctioned this fall.

If the area gets totally developed, it would be nearly 1 million acres. The project addresses large-scale environmental concerns regarding the power and uncertainty of fish species in the area. According to Global Seafood, while the process of developing widely supported offshore wind farms in the Gulf of Maine has been years in the making- and another decade could pass before any floating wind turbines become operational- simply entering the lease auction phase has some commercial fishermen fearing the worst.

Jerry Leeman, a former commercial fisherman and the CEO of the New England Fishermen Stewardship Association (NEFSA), told Global Seafood, “There’s not enough data to support the areas that have been chosen for wind development. As now laid out, the plan could take away valuable fishing grounds from New England’s fishing fleet, post navigational hazards, and create new environmental threats.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Conservative groups cleared to continue legal fight to protect whales from Biden-backed offshore wind farm

June 17, 2024 — A coalition of conservative organizations has standing to continue fighting a Biden administration wind project in Virginia, a federal judge determined.

However, U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan of the District of Columbia, a Biden appointee, denied the plaintiff’s petition for a preliminary injunction to halt construction of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project from going forward.

On Thursday, the plaintiffs withdrew a petition for an expedited appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court for a narrow decision on the injunction but will continue the case to stop the construction, one attorney said.

The plaintiffs sued the Biden administration and Dominion Energy to protect the North Atlantic right whale under the Endangered Species Act.

Read the full article at Fox News

Launch of US wind installation vessel masks critical shortage

June 17, 2024 — The launch of the first U.S.-built wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) in April marked an important milestone for the offshore wind sector. Commissioned by U.S. utility Dominion Energy, the 472-foot ‘Charybdis’ will be fully operational by early 2025 and will first be used to install Dominion’s 2.6 GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.

The Charybdis is a positive step for the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind industry but several other vessels are needed to fill a widening supply gap that is holding back developers. Slow buildout of U.S. supply chain and port infrastructure and a lack of clarity over leasing and permitting schedules has hampered developers and deterred some investors.

The U.S. needs four-to-six turbine installation vessels to meet the 30 GW offshore wind target set by President Biden for 2030, according to the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Read the full article at Reuters

Offshore wind is providing little competition to oil and gas production so far

June 17, 2024 — President Joe Biden wants the U.S. offshore wind industry to be producing 30 gigawatts of electrical power by 2030 — enough, the administration says, to power 10 million homes. That would be the equivalent of about 16,920 bbls. of petroleum per hour or 384,000 bbls. of oil per day.

By comparison, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) says the U.S. consumes approximately 20 million bbls. of petroleum, including oil and natural gas, per day.

Read the full article at WorkBoat

OREGON: Oregon seafood groups urge Governor Kotek to prioritize state-led wind energy plans

June 14, 2024 — The state’s seafood commodity commissions have expressed concerns to Governor Kotek, urging them to prioritize that states own planning process and utilize it as a guide for responsible offshore wind energy development. According to Oregon Trawl, Oregon Dungeness Crab, Oregon Albacore and Oregon Salmon, the alternative would be following a rushed federal process; keeping impacted communities from having a voice.

According to the seafood commodity commissions should the state follow the federal process the viability of the state’s seafood industry and the health of the ocean would not be prioritized.

“Being situated in the middle of one of the world’s four most productive marine regions, Oregon is blessed with its healthy abundant fisheries, which are known to be among the top well-managed fisheries in existence today,” said Yelena Nowak, the executive director of the Oregon Trawl Commission. “It is critically important for Oregon to step up our efforts in ensuring Oregon’s impacted communities and the pristine natural environments are respected and protected in the pursuit of offshore wind energy development.”

Read the full article at KMTR

Vineyard Wind extends application time for fishermen compensation

June 14, 2024 — Northeast fishermen have until June 17 to apply for compensation from developers of the Vineyard Wind 1 project.

Originally opened March 4 to June 3, the compensation application process remains available

Online at: vw1fisheriescomp.com

Applications opened earlier this year with a series of open-house events outlining how fishermen may get some compensation for losses from development of the 804-megawatt offshore wind turbine array off southern New England.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

BOEM says ‘no significant impacts’ from Central Atlantic wind lease sale

June 11, 2024 — An environmental assessment of three planned offshore wind energy areas off Delaware, Maryland and Virginia predicts “no significant impacts” from future lease sales on 365,545 acres of seafloor, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy said this week.

Dubbed the Central Atlantic region by BOEM planners, lease sales are already tentatively scheduled for Aug. 14, and the environmental study summarizes “site assessment and site characterization activities such as geophysical, geological, and archaeological surveys,” according to an agency announcement. “The EA concluded that there would be no significant impacts from lease issuance.”

BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein said the agency will work with other government agencies, ocean users and the public “to ensure that any development in the region is done in a way that avoids, reduces, or mitigates potential impacts to ocean users and the marine environment.”

Supporting documents to the environmental assessment do note caveats. Potential conflicts with U.S. military uses and NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia are continuing to be assessed for Wind Energy Area B-1 off Maryland and Virginia.

Read the full article at WorkBoat

DC Circuit to hear battle over Virginia offshore wind

June 8, 2024 — Critics of an offshore wind farm in Virginia are taking their fight against the project to a powerful federal appeals court.

In a Wednesday filing, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, Heartland Institute, and National Legal and Policy Center said they are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to reverse a May ruling that denied their bid to block a 176-turbine Dominion Energy wind project off the coast of Virginia Beach.

A lower court found that the challengers had failed to show that they would face irreparable harm if the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind commercial project moved forward.

Read the full article at E&E News