Tag Archives: Biden Administration
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
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Not Ready to Get Hosed: New Jersey Offshore Wind ‘energy boondoggle’ faces fierce criticism from residents
While the Biden administration and other environmental activist groups boast that the Atlantic Shores South project, nearly nine years in the making, is another milestone in the country’s harvesting of green energy, a former U.S. Department of Energy engineer raises alarm bells that not only is this project detrimental to tourism, the ocean’s ecosystem, but it will actually raise energy costs to as high as 80% over the next 20 years. The company behind the project, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC (Atlantic Shores), holds three different leases totaling more than 400 square miles with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. There are plans for two separate projects with two lease areas located off the Jersey Shore between Atlantic City and Barnegat Light and the third lease located in an area of the Atlantic Ocean known as the Bight. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:45
Biden Admin Approves New Jersey’s First Offshore Wind Project Amid Growing Local Pushback
The Atlantic Shores South project, given a green light by the U.S. Department of the Interior last week, calls for installing 200 towering wind turbines less than nine miles off the coast — providing enough electricity to power more than 1 million homes. It’s the ninth offshore wind project approved by President Joe Biden as part of his efforts to expand the green power industry aggressively. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and environmental groups praised the project’s approval, saying it will help reduce the state and nation’s reliance on fossil fuel energy sources. “Through the responsible development of offshore wind facilities, we can protect our aquatic and coastal resources and the communities who rely upon them while taking bold action to address the climate crisis by reducing emissions from fossil-fuel-dependent energy sources,” Shawn LaTourette, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said in a statement. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:06
Feds say “damn the whales” in the Gulf of Maine
Biden’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposes to build a huge amount of floating offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine. As required by law, it has published for public comment a draft Environmental Assessment of the area designated for this monster project. But insanely, there is no assessment of the project, just of the area without the project. I am not making this up. This place is properly called the Wind Energy Area (WEA) because that is where the wind energy will come from. BOEM says they plan to issue eight leases initially with a monster development potential of 15,000 MW. Given that 15 MW is the biggest turbine available that amounts to 1,000 or more huge turbines. A second phase might add another thousand of so. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:29
Concerns about overfishing resurface despite new monument off Cape Cod
Located 130 miles off Cape Cod, the area spans more than 3 million acres and is part of the Biden Administration’s plan to conserve at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. Officially called the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. Debate over how to manage this vast marine environment has been ongoing. Former President Donald Trump lifted restrictions on commercial fishing in the monument area in 2020. The Biden administration reestablished protections one year later, in a move praised by environmental groups and condemned by fishermen, who said it would put more people out of work. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:30
Highway Funds Illegally used for Floating Wind Factories
The Biden Administration is illegally redirecting hundreds of millions of dollars in highway grant money to fund construction of floating wind manufacturing facilities. The funding mechanism is the INFRA Grant Program in Biden’s Transportation Department. To begin with, here is how the website describes the Program: “What is the INFRA program? INFRA (the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects program) awards competitive grants for multimodal freight and highway projects of national or regional significance to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of freight and people in and across rural and urban areas.” Projects typically range from as little as $8 million up to $200 million. Here is their list of eligible projects, which is pretty clear and simple,,, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:36
Governor urged to use ‘Oregon way’ in ocean wind energy development
Oregon’s state seafood commodity commissions have expressed their concerns in a letter to Kotek over federal offshore wind energy development plans proposed for the southern Oregon coast. The letter emphasizes what the commission states are adverse effects on the ocean environment and Oregon’s sustainable seafood industry. Oregon Trawl, Oregon Dungeness Crab, Oregon Albacore and Oregon Salmon Commissions urged Kotek to prioritize Oregon’s own planning process under the auspices of the state official “Roadmap” initiative, intended to guide responsible offshore wind energy development in Oregon. The Oregon groups opposing the development said the offshore wind facilities will be built in the pristine ocean ecosystems that support remarkable marine biodiversity, including many protected species. No environmental studies have been performed to assess the risks of large-scale offshore wind energy production which risks overwhelming this unique remote ocean region, according to the opponents. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:32
Conservative groups cleared to continue legal fight to protect whales from Biden-backed offshore wind farm
A coalition of conservative organizations have 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. The plaintiffs sued the Biden administration and Dominion Energy to protect the North Atlantic right whale under the Endangered Species Act. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:56
Frank Lasee: Wind Turbines and Lobsters Mean Less Lobsters and Not Enough Electricity
National Lobster Day is a good time to think about what the expensive, subsidized offshore wind development is going to do to lobsters and the $400 million lobster industry. Offshore wind will disrupt fishing for them and harm their habitat. This is not good for the Maine lobsters, and it is not good for electric affordability either. The 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind ordered by President Joe Biden–not Congress–is catering to the far left of the Democrat Party’s base. Over 2,000 wind turbines and foundations, 6,800 miles of cable and hundreds of specialist vessels are needed to deploy 30 GW, according to the Department of Energy. The offshore wind industry spent $2.7 billion in supply chain, transmission, ports and boats in the first year of operation. Their costs have only begun. Electricity rates are going up wherever they add offshore wind electricity generation. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:30
Biden’s Policies Threaten Small Lobster Fishers and Right Whales
While lobstermen likely haven’t been contributing to NARW deaths, it is undisputed that vessel strikes, both in U.S. and foreign waters, have. Which brings us to the Biden administration’s decision to construct thousands of offshore wind turbines smack-dab in the middle of the whale’s migration route and habitat. Biden’s East Coast offshore wind initiative could qualify as an extinction level event for the North Atlantic right whale. Despite this, the Biden administration plans to build 30,000 megawatts of traditional offshore wind facilities (with structures attached to the ocean floor) in federal waters by 2030, and an additional 15,000 megawatts of floating industrial offshore wind power by 2035. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:31
Weatherbeaten Maine Seeks More Resilient Infrastructure
Stonington, Maine, is an island town in Penobscot Bay with a year-round population of just over 1,000 people. Its lobster fishing port is the biggest in the state, supplying about 11 percent of all the Maine lobster that gets shipped to food markets around the world. In January, a winter storm caused a surge that flooded out a string of privately owned wharves that support the lobster industry and washed over a publicly owned commercial pier, knocking out all of its electronics. “We basically got hit by a wall of water,” says Linda Nelson, Stonington’s director of economic development. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:10
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Seacoast fishermen say they don’t support wind turbines in Gulf of Maine
A federal group wants to put wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine, but some Seacoast fishermen said they don’t want them. On Wednesday night, several fishermen said they can’t get on board with the idea of wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine, but the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said they’re trying to be as safe as possible with this potential project. The proposal would allow the state of Maine to build 12 floating turbines about 30 miles off the coast, which some fishermen said would cut them off from where they fish. The project, hoping to protect the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale while supporting the Biden administration’s goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, is on track to be the first floating offshore wind farm in the United States, but more approvals are still needed. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:38
Trump Presidency Is Next Worry for Battered US Wind Sector
Companies racing to build multibillion-dollar wind farms in US waters are already contending with surging borrowing costs, supply-chain woes and project pullbacks. Now, they’ve got a new worry: Donald Trump. The former US president and presumptive Republican nominee has made no secret of his animus toward wind energy, whether on- or offshore. He famously battled a project within view of his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland, and has derided wind farms as bird-killing monstrosities. But he has recently ramped up his rhetoric, telling attendees at a Florida fundraiser last month that he hates wind farms, according to people familiar with the matter. Renewable developers are bracing for more attacks Saturday, when Trump will hold a rally on the beach in Wildwood, New Jersey — a state that’s become the front line for fights over the future of offshore wind. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:34
NOAA Breaks Ground on a New Marine Operations Center Facility in Newport, Rhode Island funded by President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda
Today, the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new facility on Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island that will serve as the future home of the NOAA Marine Operations Center-Atlantic. In December, the NOAA Marine Operations Center-Atlantic, on behalf of NOAA, awarded $146,778,932 to Skanska USA to build the new NOAA facility. The design and construction of the facility is funded in part by the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in history, as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The facility will include a pier to accommodate four large vessels, a floating dock for smaller vessels, space for vessel repairs and parking, and a building to be used for shoreside support and as a warehouse. Construction is anticipated to be completed in 2027. This project will operate under a Project Labor Agreement, consistent with EO 14063, issued by President Biden. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:39
Offshore wind is gearing up to bulldoze the ocean
The Biden Administration has recently produced a wave of plans and regulatory actions aimed at building a monstrous amount of destructive offshore wind. No environmental impact assessment is included. Time scales range from tomorrow to 2050. Here is a quick look at some of it, starting with the Grand Plan. “Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Offshore Wind” is the grandiose title of the Energy Department’s version of Biden’s vision. Their basic idea is that having successfully traversed the unexpected cost crisis, offshore wind is ready to take off. This offshore bulldozer must be stopped before it is too late. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:03
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Breaking: Dominion Energy Atlantic Coast Offshore Wind Project Delayed by Lawsuit Seeking to Protect Endangered Right Whale
An order by a federal judge on Monday delayed the start of “pile driving” construction for a massive wind project off the Atlantic Coast by Dominion Energy. Judge Loren L. AliKhan convened an expedited status conference hearing in response to a coalition of three public interest groups—The Heartland Institute, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), and the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC)—suing Dominion and the Biden administration, claiming they have not done the legally required research to determine the project won’t harm the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:33
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It’s Been a Brutal Year for Offshore Wind — Despite Analysts’ Best Guesses
Since the start of 2023, approximately 60% of all contracts signed by American offshore wind developers have been cancelled, according to E&E News. Ørsted, a Danish company and one of the world’s leading offshore wind developers, backed out of two major planned projects in New Jersey in 2023, while other players like General Electric, British Petroleum (BP) and Equinor attempted to renegotiate with state governments as economic headwinds eroded projects’ profitability. Similar developments have played out to start 2024, with developers up and down the east coast backing out of deals to sell power from their projects as the same fundamental economic problems persist despite the projections of some market experts and media outlets. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:57
2.4 GW Offshore Wind Energy Project Opposed In Brookings
Following a letter of opposition by the Brookings City Council to the Bureau of Energy Management (BOEM) about the latter’s Offshore Wind Energy Project on Monday, it is likely that the council will formally oppose the development of windmills off the Oregon Coast. The WEA (wind energy area) in Brookings and Coos Bay potentially has 2.4 gigawatts of clean renewable energy according to the BOEM press release and would comprise 133,000 acres situated about 18 miles off the coast. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:35
Biden administration plans to tee up offshore wind across the nation’s coastlines
The Biden administration is planning to boost offshore wind energy production, announcing up to a dozen opportunities for industry to bid on chances to build wind turbines in U.S. oceans over the next five years. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is slated to announce the lease sales at a conference in New Orleans. The 12 potential opportunities Haaland is announcing include sales in the central Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Maine, Gulf of Mexico, the New York Bight and off the coast of Oregon, California, Hawaii and a yet-to-be-determined U.S. territory. These sales were described as potential sales that could occur rather than ones definitely slated to happen, and if former President Trump wins election, he may want to cancel them. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:56
IS THE G.A.O. SLOWWALKING ITS INVESTIGATION OF OFFSHORE WIND IMPACTS? By Jim Lovgren
On June 15, 2023, Congressman Chris Smith issued a press release touting the acceptance by the General Accountability Office [GAO], of a request by the House Natural Resources Committee to investigate a wide range of issues related to the development of offshore wind. The Committee letter, signed by Chairman Bruce Westerman, was submitted on May 15 th , 2023, almost a year ago. I bring this up because the average time-length of most GAO investigations is three months. Which begs the question; Is the Biden administration “slow-walking” the GAO investigation? Slow-walking is the act of purposefully delaying action by stalling, stonewalling, making excuses of how hard it is to do, and other whiney efforts at delaying an investigation until it fails because it is too late. It is the bureaucrat’s favorite weapon of choice when forced to disclose vital information, that their politician benefactors don’t want exposed. more, >>click to read<< 06:10
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OFFSHORE WIND AND WHALES – A collection of articles from fisherynation.com By Jim Lovgren
After over forty-five years as a commercial fisherman out of Point Pleasant NJ, I sold my boat the Shadowfax, and retired, moving to California. My experience as a fisherman began in the early 1970’s, and I observed and learned an encyclopedia of knowledge concerning fishing, the environment, and fishery management, including politics. As I observed the continuing massacre and the lies denying them by government and media puppets, I under took an effort to expose the truth concerning offshore wind. The following articles are listed in order of their appearance in Fisherynation.com, and are best understood by reading them in order. Just click on the title of an article you’d like to read. more, >>click to read<< 15:09
Fishing industry reels over Biden’s destructive wind farm plan: It’s ‘coming at us from every direction’
Time is running out for fishermen and women in the Northeast who fear their industry is being put at risk by the Biden administration’s renewable energy agenda. “Ground fishermen, lobstermen, whatever you are, you’re under the microscope right now, and it just seems to be something coming at us from every direction,” New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) COO Dustin Delano said on “The Big Money Show” Monday. “And with this offshore wind agenda out there to attempt to fight climate change,” he continued, “it’s almost like environmentalists and different folks are willing to destroy the environment to protect the environment.” Video, photos, more, >>click to read<< 08:52
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Massachusetts fishermen say feds are hypocritical in Gulf of Maine wind energy designation
A move to designate two million acres in the Gulf of Maine as a hub for wind energy is snagging a sharp hook from Massachusetts fishermen who say the development overlooks risks to the North Atlantic right whale. A handful of Bay State fishermen advocacy groups are teaming with counterparts from across New England in criticizing the Biden administration’s plans to industrialize the area off the coasts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Fishermen, however, say the industrialization of the two-million-acre area is “flatly inconsistent with a policy of endangered species protection.” “Fishermen are disheartened that the WEA designation favors foreign energy developers over marine mammal protection,” the Gulf of Maine Fishing Associations said in a statement last week. “This preferential treatment is in stark contrast to the federal government’s aggressive campaign to burden commercial fishing needlessly with crushing restrictions to protect whales.” more, >>click to read<< 08:43
Offshore wind or tribal rights? Biden’s California dilemma.
Several offshore wind developers want to build the state’s first farms off the coast here, projects that are needed for California and the White House to reach decarbonization goals. But this summer, the administration is also likely to designate the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary in coastal waters that surround Morro Bay, a plan that the offshore wind industry says blocks their access to the grid. Equinor, Golden State Wind and Invenergy California Offshore, companies with offshore wind farms planned off the bay, hope to carve out guaranteed paths for their power lines to reach shore, when the NOAA finalizes the sanctuary in coming months. “The ocean should not be the sacrificial lamb for our unquenchable thirst for energy,” said Violet Sage Walker, chair of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, the Indigenous tibe that proposed the marinre sanctuary to NOAA. more, >>click to read<< 09:29
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Oregon congressional members ask feds for more comment time on offshore wind energy sites
Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle, all Democrats, said residents need more time according to input they’ve received. In a letter on Tuesday, they asked the agency’s director, Elizabeth Klein, to extend the comment period to give Oregonians who would be affected by the offshore sites a chance to fully engage in the process. “Tribes, the fishing community and others throughout Oregon’s coastal communities are currently working to develop comments that will inform the environmental assessment for the wind energy areas, including impacts to the ocean ecosystem, environment, fisheries, viewsheds and other important resources,” they said. The sites are part of the Biden administration’s plan to build up 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind energy capacity by 2035, with a total of 30 gigawatts deployed by 2030. more, >>click to read<< 12:01
Harris: No offshore wind turbines
Warning of dire consequences if offshore wind industrialization is allowed off Maryland’s Atlantic coast, three legislators called on experts to bolster their call to halt construction of wind turbines off the mid-Atlantic coast. Harris was joined by New Jersey Congressmen Jeff Van Drew (R) and Chris Smith (R). Six experts testified and answered questions from the legislators. whose districts “are directly impacted” by “offshore wind industrialization,” according to news releases issued by the congressmen’s offices. Harris doubted that “the average person would be willing to pay the extra taxes and extra rates in order to develop a source of energy that … is roughly four times as expensive as what your current source of energy is,” he said. “That impacts everyone whether or not you live on the Shore.” 12 photos, more, >>click to read<< 06:55
Offshore Wind and the Stress on Commercial Fishermen
Congressional Republicans are sounding the Mayday alarm this weekend to the grave challenges commercial fishermen face resulting from the Biden administration’s offshore wind agenda. Offshore wind development is placing enormous stress on the American commercial fishing fleet, which may not survive these challenges. A trio of coastal lawmakers, Reps. Andy. Harris (R-Md.), Chris Smith (R.-N.J.), and Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) will explore offshore wind farm interactions at an upcoming hearing, which their colleagues and the public should heed. President Joe Biden casts himself as a friend to American workers, but his poor treatment of fishermen and their communities puts the lie to this claim. Biden’s plan to produce 30 GW of offshore wind energy by the year 2030 is based solely on political goals, not any true scientific investigation of our ocean’s offshore ecosystems. The science is unresolved. Coastal economies are forgotten. Energy and food security questions are ignored. And that’s just for starters. more, >>click to read<< 08:16
Preserving our heritage and livelihood – A shrimper’s stand against unjust regulations
I’ve been a shrimper for over 45 years. It’s more than just a job; it’s a legacy that’s been passed down through generations in my family. Since I was 15, I’ve been working in the waters of Plaquemines Parish, my workplace, my passion, and my source of livelihood. Today, as I continue to bring the finest Gulf shrimp to your tables, I find myself fighting not only for my job but for the very soul of Louisiana’s shrimping heritage. The recent rule by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) mandating the use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) on skimmer trawl vessels longer than 40 feet is a real threat to our community. This rule, though it may seem well-intentioned, is an example of overreach and disregard for our industry’s reality. more, >>click to read<< 13:44
Louisiana Shrimp Association sues federal government over turtle excluder device requirement
The Louisiana Shrimp Association (LSA) has filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) regarding a 2019 rule that requires the installation of turtle excluder devices (TED) on fishing trawlers. TEDs have been required on shrimp trawlers in certain circumstances since 1987 in order to separate sea turtles, sharks, and other large bycatch so they can escape through an opening in the netting. But in 2015, the ocean conservation organization Oceana sued the government arguing that the rules were insufficient and claiming that over 53,000 estimated sea turtles were still being killed via shrimp nets each year. Video, more, >>click to read<< 19:32