Saving Seafood

Maryland county takes on international offshore wind company to save commercial fishing jobs

December 18, 2024 — On the largely undeveloped Delmarva peninsula – which is surrounded by the Chesapeake Bay to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and includes portions of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia – local lawmakers are getting ready to take on a major international wind power company in an effort to save its crucial commercial fishing industry.

The Worcester County Commissioners in Maryland approved a resolution on Tuesday to acquire two properties in West Ocean City Harbor through eminent domain, which US Wind plans to develop into an operations and maintenance facility as it constructs a wind farm off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland. The action was taken in an effort to protect the county’s historic commercial and sport fishing industries.

The commissioners passed the resolution as US Wind, a subsidiary of Italian-based Renexia SpA, plans to construct a 353-foot-long-by-30-foot-wide concrete pier at the harbor to service vessels used to construct a proposed wind farm consisting of up to 118 turbines at least 15 miles off the coast of Ocean City. Along with the pier, the company plans to install 383 feet of bulkhead.

The two properties the county plans to acquire are currently being used by Southern Connection Seafood and the Martin Fish Company, which are the only two commercial seafood wholesalers in the area where watermen can offload and sell their catches.

The county’s plans for the two properties include developing a long-term lease with the existing owners, allowing them to continue serving the needs of the commercial fishing industry, according to the resolution that was passed.

“The commercial fishing industry is an integral and essential part of Worcester County’s economy,” the resolution reads, adding that it, along with the sport fishing industry, are dependent on commercial marine support in and around West Ocean City Harbor.

Read the full story at FOX Business

Biden admin calls on Supreme Court to reject Vineyard Wind case

December 17, 2024 — The Biden administration is urging the Supreme Court to turn away a petition calling for more analysis of how a major offshore wind project off Massachusetts could affect an endangered whale.

The Bay State group Nantucket Residents Against Turbines has claimed in its appeal to the high court that federal agencies failed to account for the cumulative effects of offshore wind development planned on the East Coast would affect the survival of the North Atlantic right whale when it approved Vineyard Wind 1.

In a brief to the court last week, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said the Supreme Court should not consider the case because the group had not raised the issue before two lower courts in its lawsuit over the NOAA Fisheries and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management analysis of the project.

Read the full article at E&E News

Vineyard Wind Restarts Installing Turbine Blades

December 17, 2024 — Vineyard Wind began reinstalling turbine blades on its turbines over the weekend for the first time since one blade broke off into the ocean earlier this year.

Vineyard Wind and its turbine manufacturer GE Vernova resumed the blade installation on Saturday, installing three blades, according to Vineyard Wind and government officials. The construction marks the first blade work in five months after one doubled over and scattered thousands of pieces of debris into the water in July.

Nantucket town officials, who have been closely following the development of offshore wind to the island’s south, notified residents Friday that construction would be starting the following day.

On Monday, Vineyard Wind acknowledged the construction, saying it comes after the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the federal agency that is investigating the blade failure, approved blade work under certain safety precautions in October.

Read the full article at the Vineyard Gazette

Offshore wind companies pitch projects in the Gulf of Mexico, signaling interest in region

December 16, 2024 — After a period of stagnation for the offshore wind sector, a federal agency just announced that two new areas in the Gulf of Mexico have attracted interest from energy companies — a hopeful sign for a fledgling industry that Louisiana has sought to boost.

The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, which oversees offshore wind development, said Thursday that two areas off the coast of Southeast Texas have “competitive interest” for future business after two companies expressed interest in building wind farms there.

The 142,000 acres of note will likely be included in the next wind lease auction, scheduled for 2026, alongside other Gulf areas identified as apt for the technology.

While the companies’ proposed wind farms most likely would not supply energy to Louisiana, they suggest that the industry is eyeing the Gulf region for future projects.

Read the full article at NOLA

Federal hostility could delay offshore wind projects, derailing state climate goals

December 16, 2024 — Numerous East Coast states are counting on offshore wind projects to power tens of millions of homes and to help them transition to cleaner energy.

But putting wind turbines at sea requires the cooperation of a powerful landlord: the federal government. Soon, that government will be led by President-elect Donald Trump, who has frequently disparaged offshore wind and said he will “make sure that ends on Day 1.”

In the eight states that have passed legal mandates to reach certain amounts of offshore wind power, Trump’s second term threatens those timelines.

“This is absolutely going to create problems for how we’re going to meet our emissions goals and the energy needs for the state,” said Massachusetts state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, a Democrat who serves as vice chair on the legislative Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.

Read the full article at Stateline

Appeals court upholds Vineyard Wind ruling, rejecting attempt by fishermen to stop project

December 12, 2024 — The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected an attempt by commercial fishermen to stop a large-scale offshore wind energy development project.

Vineyard Wind, which is to be located off the coast of the U.S. state of Massachusetts, is intended to be an 800-megawatt project built across 75,000 acres. The lawsuit, originally filed in 2022, was filed by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) against several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and NOAA Fisheries and claimed the agencies took shortcuts past statutory and regulator requirements intended to protect the environment.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

BOEM Announces Next Steps in Competitive Leasing Process for Offshore Wind Energy in Gulf of Mexico

December 12, 2024 — The following was released by BOEM:

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced today that it is issuing a Determination of Competitive Interest in two Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in the Gulf of Mexico. The determination comes after an unsolicited request from Hecate Energy Gulf Wind LLC expressing interest in acquiring a commercial wind energy lease for WEA options C and D.

On July 29, 2024, BOEM published a Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI) in the Federal Register seeking feedback on Hecate’s unsolicited lease request. Invenergy GOM Offshore Wind LLC expressed interest in WEA options C and D. BOEM has deemed both Hecate and Invenergy to be legally, technically, and financially qualified to hold an OCS renewable energy lease in the Gulf of Mexico. As a result of this review, BOEM has determined that competitive interest exists in the RFCI areas.

“The Gulf of Mexico remains an attractive option for offshore wind energy development,” said Gulf of Mexico Regional Director Jim Kendall. “We are excited about the future of this emerging sector in the region.”

BOEM will move forward with the competitive lease process and proceed to hold the next offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico in 2026. The next step in that process will be to continue to analyze the other comments received in response to the RFCI and evaluate which portions of WEA options C and D, and other potential WEA options, are best suited for sale. BOEM will release draft WEAs for public input early next year.

A notice announcing the determination of competitive interest will publish in the Federal Register on Dec. 13, 2024. For more information on the notice and offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Mexico, see the BOEM website: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/gulf-mexico-activities.

Aquinnah tribe supports wind lawsuit

December 11, 2024 — The leader of the Martha’s Vineyard Native American tribe, and a tribal citizen who runs a popular charter fishing business, are supporting a lawsuit against a wind farm that is undergoing construction off Aquinnah’s coast.

The chair of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, filed a declaration in federal district court in Washington, D.C., stating that the tribe has suffered as the result of the government’s actions approving Revolution Wind, a development under construction 12 miles from the Vineyard.

William (“Buddy”) Vanderhoop has filed a similar declaration; both read like witness statements. Vanderhoop said that the fishing grounds that he brings customers to have not been as productive as in prior years, and he worries about his business as a result.

Describing themselves as a grassroots organization, the Rhode Island group Green Oceans is alleging in the lawsuit filed at the beginning of this year that the federal government has violated a number of laws — including the Endangered Species and Clean Water acts — by approving the construction of Revolution Wind. Some 35 other plaintiffs are part of the lawsuit, including the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance and Save Right Whales Coalition.

Revolution Wind is expected to consist of 65 Siemens Gamesa turbines — which feature blades more than 300 feet long — with the capacity to generate up to 400 megawatts for Rhode Island and 304 megawatts for Connecticut, enough to power more than 350,000 homes.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the wind farm in November last year.

But tribal members, including Andrews-Maltais, worry about the impact the offshore wind development is having on many significant cultural practices, the environment as well as wildlife in the area.

Read the full article at Martha Vineyard Times

DELAWARE: US Wind gets green light from Delaware for offshore wind project What happens now?

December 11, 2024 — Delaware’s environmental division has approved three permits needed for US Wind’s offshore wind project off of the Maryland coast.

DNREC announced Monday, Dec. 9 that US Wind’s permits to utilize Delaware’s land to connect the turbines to a new substation were approved with stipulations that would require the company to employ mitigation strategies and fund certain conservation efforts around the Delaware beaches.

“This is an important step forward,” said Jeff Grybowski, US Wind CEO. “After a thorough, science-based review by DNREC’s experts, and feedback from the public, we are thrilled to have secured these final approvals to move forward on delivering massive amounts of clean energy to the region. Offshore wind will help lower electricity bills for the people of Delaware, satisfy the region’s critical need for more electricity and improve air quality across the state, all while supporting good local jobs.

Read the full article at Delaware Online

Vineyard Wind Withstands Another Legal Challenge

December 10, 2024 — Another attempt to halt Vineyard Wind through the courts fell short last week when a federal court dismissed an appeal by a fishermen’s organization and a Rhode Island seafood dealer.

A panel of judges with the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision on Dec. 5, saying the group’s claims that the federal government mishandled the approval process for the wind farm were unfounded.

The decision is one of several that Vineyard Wind, which aims to build 62 turbines to the south of the Island, has weathered in recent years, keeping the project’s approvals from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management intact.

Seafreeze Shoreside, a Rhode Island-based seafood dealer, the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance and other groups filed the appeal after their claims were rejected by the U.S. District Court in Boston in 2023.

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette