Tag Archives: Biden Administration
First Circuit likely to save the whales despite lobstermen’s complaints
An epic sea battle unfolded at the First Circuit Tuesday as Massachusetts fishermen tried to harpoon federal regulations that protect the North Atlantic right whale. But it appeared the judges were on the whales’ side and, as in “Moby Dick,” the fishermen may end up shipwrecked. At issue is a federal rule that limits lobster and Jonah crab fisheries’ use of buoy lines, which can entangle and kill whales. The fishermen’s lawyer, Daniel Cragg, told the judges that the rule resulted from Congress making a “drafting failure,” but the judges seemed incredulous. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:52
Donald Trump Pledges to Halt Big Wind Subsidies
Donald Trump’s election victory is quickly taking the wind out of the Biden administration’s ambitious renewables initiatives. President-elect Trump promised to end federal subsidies for offshore wind projects on his first day in office. As with many of his campaign pledges, Americans wait to see whether he will deliver. However, the market did not wait to see. Stock prices of offshore wind developers and turbine makers moved sharply downward following election day as investors query whether windmill projects are economically viable without the hefty federal subsidies Trump has promised to terminate. Environmental groups and fishermen have also raised concerns about the potential ecological trade-offs of this plastic-based technology and worries about ecotoxins created in the manufacturing of solar panels and EVs have caused consumers to pause. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:22
Supporters, Opponents of Offshore Wind Both Look for Hopeful Signs in Trump Administration
On the day after the elections last week, and even before, the airwaves were crammed with speculation about how this, that, and the other sectors of American life and the economy would fare under a Trump administration. The chatter included the future of offshore wind, which was born in the United States in 2016 off the coast of Block Island and continues to generate heavy support and heavy opposition. President-elect Donald Trump has expressed hostility toward offshore wind and has said he would put an end to the industry “on day one” of his administration. Trump-supporting Republicans have vowed to put an end to President Joe Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, including tax credits for big projects such as offshore wind. A large share of the IRA’s $891 billion price tag is targeted toward renewable energy and related technologies. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:53
Fishermen celebrate Trump: ‘Government has crucified this industry’
He didn’t win New Bedford, where Vice President Kamala Harris held a margin of 2,688 votes. But the city’s fishermen have dug in with their support for the president-elect. Fishermen on the New Bedford waterfront met the news of a second Trump term with vengeful enthusiasm on Wednesday morning. There was hope that the president-elect would scale back regulation, stop offshore wind development and open new fishing grounds, breaking the slump of declining revenues and ushering in a period of relative prosperity for the industry. “The government has crucified this industry,” said Ryan Turner, 47, who on Wednesday morning was preparing to leave on a scallop trip. He said this election was the first in which he had ever cast his vote. Between Harris and Trump, he said, “I didn’t like either one. I voted because we needed someone in office who is going to get rid of these windmills.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:17
New Report Suggests “Whale Psychiatrist” Trump May be Right About Wind Farms and Whales
US Bureau of Ocean Management report says whales, dolphins, birds and bats can all be injured by wind turbine construction, and offshore fishing harmed. Trump has been an advocate for keeping America clean and healthy. He has not advocated for the anti-carbon push based on pseudoscience and the rush into green energy projects put forth by environmentalists. Admittedly. the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has officials saying they have found no evidence linking offshore wind turbines to whale deaths. However, a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has just released a new report that said whales, dolphins, birds and more can be exposed to “unavoidable adverse impacts” by the construction of offshore wind farms. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:50
New Federal Report: Offshore Wind Farm Construction Can Harm Whales, Birds, Fisheries – >>CLICK TO READ<<
Election Jitters, Industry Headwinds Undermine Biden’s Final Offshore Wind Auction
A U.S. auction of offshore wind development rights in the Gulf of Maine on Tuesday drew bids for only half of the eight offered leases, for a total of just $21.9 million in high bids, in the latest sign of deep industry malaise. The sale was a stark display of the lack of industry appetite for new investment after a year of high-profile setbacks that include canceled projects, two shelved lease sales in Oregon and the Gulf of Mexico and a construction accident at the nation’s first major offshore wind project. The auction was the last before President Joe Biden, a Democrat, leaves office in January. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:25
Ocean City, fishing clubs and Thrasher’s French Fries sue federal government over offshore wind project
Ocean City, Maryland, neighboring towns, counties, sportfishing groups, hotels, amusement parks and boardwalk staple Thrasher’s French Fries have filed a lawsuit against the federal government for approving a massive wind farm approximately 10 miles off the tourist town’s coast. Last month, on Sept. 5, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a division of the U.S. Interior Department, announced the approval of the Maryland Offshore Wind Project. It’s the nation’s 10th commercial-scale offshore wind energy project, according to the Biden Administration. The list of plaintiffs includes the mayor and city council of Ocean City, the mayor and town council of neighboring Fenwick Island, Delaware, and commissioners of Worcester County, Maryland, where Ocean City is located. Other plaintiffs include developers, hotels, commercial fishermen and seafood markets, the parent company for Ocean City’s Jolly Roger at the Pier amusement park, the Save Right Whales Coalition and the parent company for Thrasher’s French Fries. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:42
Offshore wind looked like a sure thing for Oregon — until it wasn’t.
A push to bring floating offshore wind technology to the Southern Oregon coast was gaining momentum. The Oregon Department of Energy saw floating offshore wind playing a critical role in the state’s, and the region’s renewable energy goals. The Biden administration had ambitious national goals for developing offshore wind, and the Oregon Coast played a key role. For the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, the years-long process of identifying areas for development and selecting potential bidders to see if the technology would work off the coast was coming to a close. And then, in a single week in late September — after years of effort, and less than three weeks before BOEM officials expected to choose a company to develop offshore wind — everything fell apart. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:09
Biden administration races to shell out billions for clean energy as election nears
The Biden administration is shelling out billions of dollars for clean energy and approving major offshore wind projects as officials race to secure major climate initiatives before President Joe Biden’s term comes to an end. Biden wants to establish a legacy for climate action that includes locking in a trajectory for reducing the nation’s planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Former President Donald Trump has pledged to rescind unspent funds in Biden’s landmark climate and health care bill and stop offshore wind development if he returns to the White House in January. Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic nominee after Biden dropped from the race this summer, has said she will pursue a climate agenda similar to Biden’s, focused on reducing emissions, deploying renewables and creating clean energy jobs. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:46
On US coast, wind power foes embrace ‘Save the Whales’ argument
Whether from real concern for marine animals or doubts about renewable energy, the anti-wind power movement has been growing along the US East Coast, with some trying to blame a surge in whale strandings on the growth of offshore energy projects. Their attempt to link the two seems to be resonating, despite what scientists say is a clear lack of evidence. When Lauren Brandkamp and her team from the nonprofit Whale and Dolphin Conservation organization in Massachusetts carry out a rescue on an area beach, one of the first questions bystanders ask is: “Was this wind?” Wind power critics have organized coastal town gatherings, posted “Save the Whales” signs and filed lawsuits in a bid to bury new wind projects under crushing litigation fees. A recent surge in whale strandings or deaths has given them added ammunition. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:41
ILA UNION ON STRIKE IN 36 US PORTS – Teamsters Warn Biden To ‘Stay the F*ck Out of This Fight’
“We are official out on strike, our contract ended at midnight,” Bernie ODonnell, international Vice President for ILA New England told reporters. “We plan on being here 24/7 until we get a good contract. We are looking for a fair contract and we are fighting automation.” In a last-minute effort today to avert the strike, port employers represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) announced that both sides have exchanged wage-related offers. However, reporting quickly indicated that the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) union had already rejected the offer. The current contract, which covers approximately 45,000 port workers across 36 ports on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts expired at midnight this morning. Photos, Video, links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:25
International Whaling Commission meets this week, will they discuss the US whale slaughter? By Jim Lovgren
The International Whaling Commission [IWC] meets this week from September 23 rd to the 27 th , in Lima Peru. The commission was established in 1946 and is a specialized regional fishery management organization created to provide for the proper conservation of various different Whale species, with the goal of supporting the orderly development of the Whaling industry. For two hundred years fishing vessels hunted down Whales bringing some species to the brink of extinction. Unlike the American slaughter of Buffalo, where they were killed solely for their hide, and the carcass left to rot, the Whaling industry utilized almost every part of these animals, with many indigenous populations being dependent on them as their main food source. This brings us to the present marine mammal slaughter being perpetrated by multi-national wind companies along the US east coast. In 2016 NOAA declared an unusual marine mammal mortality event was taking place with Humpback, Minke, and Northern Right Whales. Around that time research and construction was started on the Block Island wind project. more, >>CCLICK TO READ<< 16:11
Concerned residents file second lawsuit against New Jersey offshore wind project over noise pollution
Save Long Beach Island, a community group created in opposition to a massive offshore wind project off the coast of New Jersey, filed its second lawsuit to block the construction of an Atlantic Shores South project. In its lawsuit against Atlantic Shore South Offshore Wind, Save Long Beach Island requested that the court require offshore wind developers to conduct a full “airborne noise assessment and pilot project before the project can proceed.” Bob Stern, president of Save Long Beach Island, notes how the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Atlantic Shores South failed to conduct an analysis of the project’s construction and operation on generating noise pollution for residents and beachgoers. However, the Bureau of Ocean Management did find that noise from the construction of turbines would have a negative effect on marine life. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:41
Oregon Tribes sue federal government to stop offshore wind auction
The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians are suing the federal government in an attempt to stop Oregon’s first-ever offshore wind energy auction scheduled to take place next month. The lawsuit, filed late on Friday, challenges the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s environmental analysis and decision to proceed with the sale of leases for two offshore wind energy areas totaling nearly 195,000 acres, one near Coos Bay and the other near Brookings. The wind energy areas are within the tribes’ ancestral territory. The tribes say they contain critical fish and marine wildlife habitat, viewsheds of significant cultural and historic significance and key tribal and commercial fishing grounds. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:27
Fishermen Taking Aim At Offshore Wind Projects Across Texas
Fishermen are taking aim at offshore wind projects across Texas and the United States. On the same day that the Biden Administration pulled the plug on the second lease auction of a major proposed offshore wind project near the LA-TX border, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced that it had been approached by “Hecate Energy Gulf Wind LLC (Hecate Energy) to acquire commercial wind energy lease(s) on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Gulf of Mexico.” This potential project would transform thousands of aquatic acres into a wind farm. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:04
Fishermen Fight for Their Livelihoods Against Wind Farm Project in New England
In a recent interview with Fox Business, Jerry Leeman, CEO of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, expressed his deep concerns about the impact of a wind farm project off the coast of Nantucket on the livelihoods of local fishermen. The discussion, hosted by Dagen McDowell and Sean Duffy on “The Bottom Line,” highlighted the growing tension between environmental initiatives and the preservation of traditional industries like fishing. Leeman opened the conversation by addressing what he described as “greenwashing,” a term used to suggest that the wind farm project is being marketed as environmentally friendly while ignoring the negative consequences. “We have been greenwashed into thinking this is a good idea,” Leeman stated. He explained that the construction and operation of wind turbines are displacing vital fish stocks and creating dangerous debris fields that could threaten the safety of fishermen. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:50
‘We’ve Been Steamrolled’: Fishermen Protest Offshore Wind Following Turbine Failure That Shed Debris Into Atlantic
Scores of fishermen took to the seas Sunday to protest offshore wind developments after a damaged wind blade scattered toxic debris off the coast of Massachusetts. The blade, a part of the Vineyard Wind development, broke on July 13, spilling Styrofoam, fiberglass and other debris, some of which ended up on Nantucket’s pristine beaches. The flotilla protested the effects of offshore wind on fish stocks and ocean navigation, with roughly 20 ships making a sixty-mile round trip from New Bedford, Massachusetts, to the site of the broken turbine, Jerry Leeman, CEO of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) and captain of the fishing vessel Teresa Marie. “Vineyard Wind was supposed to be one of the premier offshore wind locations in the United States, and it failed before it even got started,” Leeman said. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:04
Biden-Subsidized Offshore Wind Developer Reports Massive Losses in Latest Blow to Industry
A Danish renewable energy group booked huge impairment losses Thursday after it pushed back the launch of one of its U.S. offshore wind projects, according to its first-half 2024 earnings report. Orsted estimated the value of its assets declined $472 million in the first half of 2024, largely due to delays at the onshore substation for its 704 megawatt (MW) “Revolution Wind” project off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut, the report showed. The company also reported a variety of other problems, including losses related to its cancellation of its Ocean Wind projects in New Jersey and its abandoned effort to produce eco-friendly methanol in Sweden. “Despite encouraging progress on our US offshore wind project Revolution Wind, the construction of the onshore substation for the project has been delayed,” Orsted’s CEO Mads Nipper said in reference to the delay. “This is, of course, unsatisfactory, and we continue our dedicated efforts to de-risk our portfolio.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:03
U.S. Offshore Wind Opponents Seek to Form National Group to Fight Projects
U.S. activists opposed to offshore wind development are forming a national coalition aimed at fighting projects from California to New England, according to the effort’s founder and two other organizations. The National Offshore-wind Opposition Alliance, or NOOA, aims to bring a national profile to what is currently a fractured movement of dozens of local groups, according to its president, Mandy Davis. Offshore wind is a nascent industry in the United States and a key pillar of U.S. President Joe Biden’s plan to combat climate change. His administration’s push to install turbines along every U.S. coastline has attracted pushback, including multiple lawsuits, from residents concerned about the industry’s impact on tourism, property values, fishing and marine habitats. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:25
Biden administration rejects top Inslee choice for Alaska fish commission, reappoints trawl ally
The Biden administration has rejected a nominee for a key Alaska fisheries management post who could have tipped decisions toward the interests of tribes and conservation groups and away from the priorities of the large-boat, Seattle-based trawl industry. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo skipped over the top choice of Washington Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, conservation advocate Becca Robbins Gisclair, and instead reappointed the last-ranked nominee on a slate of four candidates that Inslee offered: Anne Vanderhoeven, a trawl industry employee who has served on the panel for several years. Raimondo’s choice for the open North Pacific Fishery Management Council seat, which was confirmed Tuesday by Inslee’s natural resources advisor Ruth Musgrave, comes after what advocates describe as weeks of intense lobbying by supporters of both Gisclair and Vanderhoeven. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:47
Massachusetts political contributions from Nantucket wind farm developer scrutinized
As Nantucket continues to reel from the Vineyard Wind turbine blade failure, critics are raising concerns around how the project’s parent company, Avangrid, has donated thousands of dollars in campaign money to state elected officials. A Herald analysis found that employees who list Avangrid as their employer have made 217 donations totaling $57,677 to dozens of state and local campaigns since March 2018, two months before the Baker administration selected a Vineyard Wind bid for contract negotiation. Notable figures include project supporters Gov. Maura Healey receiving 38 donations totaling $16,425 since 2018, and state Sen. Julian Cyr, a Democrat whose district represents the Cape and Islands, collecting 17 contributions for $3,036 since 2021, according to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:29
Vineyard Wind Installed the Largest Offshore Turbines in the World. Were They Ready for Primetime?
When Vineyard Wind completed the installation of the first GE Vernova Haliade-X 13-megawatt wind turbine in the waters southwest of Nantucket in October 2023, the company trumpeted it as “the largest turbine in the western world.” It was supposed to be one of the 62 turbines that would make up the first large-scale, commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. But just nine months later, the project has been suspended by the federal government after the now infamous turbine blade failure on July 13th that left Nantucket’s beaches and the waters surrounding the island littered with fiberglass and styrofoam debris that is still being recovered. While offshore wind energy production has a decades-long track record in Europe and Asia, the Vineyard Wind project was the first of its kind in the United States, and the turbines Vineyard Wind is installing are larger and more powerful than any that have come before it. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:55
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
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
