Tag Archives: Annie Hawkins
Vineyard Wind crisis: Fishermen blast feds for saying they don’t care about whales
The claim came during a Thursday hearing in Boston federal appeals court as two fishing groups look to toss Vineyard Wind’s underlying permit, arguing regulators failed to analyze how the project would impact the environment and fishermen. “The alliance, as a trade association representing the fishing industry, does not have any interest in protecting right whales,” said attorney Thekla Hansen-Young, representing the Department of the Interior, the National Marine Fisheries Service, among other federal agencies, in the dispute. Hansen-Young was referring to the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, one of the groups fighting the feds and Vineyard Wind. Seafreeze Shoreside Inc. is the other. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:06
4 lawsuits threaten Vineyard Wind
The lawsuits against America’s first major offshore wind project are coming to a head. Four cases are challenging the federal environmental permit issued to Vineyard Wind, a 62-turbine facility being planned for construction in the waters off Martha’s Vineyard. A federal judge in Massachusetts heard arguments brought by landowners in two cases in recent weeks. The other two suits, brought by fishing groups, have been consolidated and will appear before the same judge for oral arguments in Boston on Monday. The cases against Vineyard Wind allege that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management conducted an inadequate environmental review when it approved the project by failing to account for its impact on everything from fishermen to the critically endangered North American right whale. >click to read< 07:32
No conflict here! New Jersey ocean enviro studies to be paid for by offshore wind farm developers
New Jersey’s offshore wind developers will help fund research on marine life, paying $10,000 per megawatt of capacity to help New Jersey scientists better understand the impacts of wind farms on the Atlantic Ocean’s ecosystem. The state’s Research Monitoring Initiative will direct a total of $26 million from the power companies toward the study of wind turbines’ impacts on ocean wildlife and commercial fisheries, according to state officials. >click to read< 16:24
Fishermen Are Making Their Last Stand Against Offshore Wind. Really? When?!! I don’t want to miss it!
U.S. Fishermen Are Making Their Last Stand Against Offshore Wind – In Massachusetts, the fishing advocates who sued BOEM say that the federal government ignored their requests for more rigorous scientific study of offshore wind turbines’ effect on fishing, as well as their concerns over wind turbines making it harder to traverse to fishing grounds, among other grievances. “This project is really important because it is the first one,” says Annie Hawkins, executive director of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), the coalition suing the federal government. “We need to make sure that the government and the offshore wind industry aren’t just paying lip service to other ocean users.” >click to read< Lip service? How about fighting instead of nuzzling, aligning, and political pandering?!! Read about Joes bird protection’s, but never once mentions the wind farms. >click< 06:00
Fishermen Protest Upcoming Bid for Wind Farms in New York Bight
With the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management preparing to open more lease areas on the Continental Shelf to wind farm developers by the end of the month, the fourth and last meeting between fishermen and BOEM officials took place Aug. 6 in New Bedford, Mass. with fishermen calling for a halt to leasing until more science on potential environmental impacts could be completed. The New York Bight is a triangle in the ocean between Montauk Point at the end of Long Island and Cape May at the southern tip of New Jersey. A total of eight leases will be for sale there. The larger portion of the lease area is located 35 miles off New Jersey and can’t be seen from shore, but it does pose hazards for fishing ships transiting the area and impacts the quahog, surf clam, squid and scallop fisheries. >click to read< 12:02
Few assurances for fishermen in federal offshore wind approval
Offshore wind developers have assured the commercial fishing industry all along that the thousands of massive turbines that they want to install in the ocean up and down the East Coast won’t block fishermen from waters where they make their living. But the final approval issued this week for Vineyard Wind 1, the nation’s first major offshore wind farm, offers few guarantees to commercial fishermen. Take for instance this passage from the Army Corps of Engineers in the Record of Decision for the 62-turbine project that would be built off the coast of Rhode Island and Massachusetts: “While Vineyard Wind is not authorized to prevent free access to the entire wind development area, due to the placement of the turbines it is likely that the entire 75,614 acre area will be abandoned by commercial fisheries due to difficulties with navigation.” >click to read< 16: 36
Undersea cable survey marks milestone in Maine’s offshore wind quest
Three marine vessels that study the makeup and geology of seabeds are scheduled to arrive in Maine over the next week or so to survey the proposed route of an underwater cable that will link a floating, offshore wind turbine near Monhegan Island,,, The project received a major boost last August when Diamond Offshore Wind, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corp., and RWE Renewables, the world’s second-largest offshore wind company,,, While the location of offshore wind turbines has gotten a lot of attention, the siting of the cables that connect turbines received less scrutiny, according to Annie Hawkins, of RODA, >click to read< 15:25
As Commerce Secretary, Raimondo to play key role in offshore wind.
In the selection of Gina Raimondo as the next U.S. Secretary of Commerce, the offshore wind industry would get a champion in Washington. What influence she could bring to bear for the emerging energy sector remains to be seen, but if confirmed to her new position in the Biden cabinet, Raimondo would oversee federal fisheries regulators who have raised some of the concerns about potential negative impacts of erecting what could be many hundreds of wind turbines in the ocean waters off southern New England. >click to read<09:45
Renewables and unions: Biden rounds out energy Cabinet
President-elect Joe Biden closed out his Cabinet picks last week with the choice of Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) for Commerce secretary and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh for Labor secretary,,, Offshore wind insiders say Raimondo appears to be an answer to the growing friction between a burgeoning renewable sector and the fishermen who have long been the ocean’s dominant users.,, Raimondo would oversee NOAA Fisheries, a critical gatekeeper to the growing line of offshore wind projects awaiting approval from the incoming Biden government. >click to read< 17:08
Gulf of Maine: Fishermen Worry About Rapid Pace Of Wind Development
In late November, the Mills administration announced that the state would seek a federal lease for up to 12 floating wind turbines off southern Maine that could produce enough energy for more than 70,000 homes. “We think there’s a real opportunity for Maine to be a leader in the country on floating offshore wind,” says Dan Burgess, (you’re full of crap, kid!) who leads the governor’s energy office. But if Gov. Mills wants to be in the driver’s seat, fishermen say she should take her foot off the gas, and step on the brakes. >click to read< 07:45
Fishing groups wary of rapid offshore wind development plans
As offshore wind moves up the coast of New England, efforts are underway to make sure the region’s fishing interests have a seat at the table early in project development. An alliance of industry and academic stakeholders is promoting the need for research and best practices as offshore wind takes hold in waters where fishing has long been an economic anchor. Fishing groups have several concerns about the potential for boating obstacles and ecological impacts. A dearth of research makes the industry hesitant as it prepares for a slew of projects that could overwhelm their operations. Above all, fishing stakeholders want to be included from the start of wind project development. >click to read< 09:07
New England: Fishing Industry and offshore windfarmers no closer to finding solutions
The National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, had refused to endorse BOEM’s draft EIS for Vineyard, complaining that fishing concerns were not addressed adequately. This helped trigger the government’s ongoing analysis of offshore wind’s cumulative impacts in the region.,, In public comments on the USCG port-access study, Meghan Lapp, fisheries liaison for frozen fish supplier Seafreeze, a subsidiary of Spain-based conglomerate Grupo Profand, called for the lanes.,, Lapp also called for an assurance of maritime safety that she said would be compromised by radar interference from wind turbines. >click to read< 08:34
In Northeast, more research needed on offshore wind’s impact on fishing
As plans for wind farms across New England’s waters progress, fishermen continue to express concerns about the impact of the burgeoning offshore wind industry on their livelihoods. And while wind development is moving rapidly, (into your old fishing grounds) scientific research on the impacts on fisheries has struggled to keep up. But the tides may soon be turning, thanks to the collaborative efforts of the fishing industry, offshore wind developers, and government agencies. Last week, the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance announced a new initiative to advance regional research on fisheries and offshore wind called the Responsible Offshore Science Alliance. >click to read<15:52
