Tag Archives: New England Aqua Ventus
Harpswell fishing advocate battles winds of change
Harpswell resident Jerry Leeman III sits in an office chair at a dining room table with his father, Jerry Leeman Jr., on a nearby couch watching TV. In front of Leeman III is a laptop and a stack of studies and reports on a range of issues that could threaten the New England fishing industry. Leeman, like his father, used to be a commercial fisherman. Now he spends his days reading reports and constructing arguments against what he sees as challenges to the industry, while advocating for his fellow New England fishermen and their interests. Having recently harpooned the whale conservationists in court, the New England fishing industry’s current biggest threat, in Leeman’s view, is the advent of floating offshore wind power and its planned deployment along the New England coast. >>click to read<< 12:17
Say no to blood money
New England Aqua Ventus, a joint venture between Diamond Offshore Wind, a subsidiary of the Mitsubishi Corporation, and RWE Renewables, the second largest company in offshore wind globally, was formed to develop UMaine’s floating offshore wind technology demonstration project. The Biden administration is dumping trillions of taxpayer dollars into offshore wind initiatives and offshore wind companies are big donors to environmental causes which was, without a doubt, one reason for Bigelow’s decision to grant this easement to NEAV. Eliminating our lobster industry clears the way for a Gulf of Maine filled with windmills. These global companies are financially supporting the environmental groups that are driving the North Atlantic Right Whale risk reduction measures aimed at eliminating Maine’s lobster industry. >click to read< By Patty Minerich 08:27
Congressman Boasts Support for Maine’s Lobster Industry. He Voted To Strengthen the Agency Set To Crack Down on Lobstermen.
Maine congressman Jared Golden has fashioned himself as a champion of his home state’s beloved lobster industry, but the Democrat has won the support of environmentalist groups that advocate for policies that could cripple the livelihood of lobstermen and his votes in Congress strengthen the regulatory agency with the industry in its crosshairs. But the Maine lawmaker has also voted for legislation, such as the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, that directed a combined $6.27 billion to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, beefing up the regulatory agency tasked with enforcing the regulations that could put lobstermen out of business. Lobstermen associations in New England raised millions to rally support against the regulations, but those efforts appear doomed after the July court ruling. Billy Bob Faulkingham, a Maine lobsterman and Republican member of the Maine House, said Golden’s ties to environmental special interests contradict his claim that he is an ally to lobstermen. >click to read< 07:22
Glenn Chateauvert: Lobster ad shows Golden out of touch with Mainers – >click to read<
About that “seat at the table”,,, New England Aqua Ventus Monhegan project a concern for fishermen
Boothbay region fishermen and community members are expressing concern over the New England Aqua Ventus project, a floating offshore wind turbine to be built two miles south of Monhegan. NEAV is a partnership between Maine Prime Technologies – a business arm of the University of Maine – and wind industry giants Diamond Offshore Wind, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi, and RWE Renewables.,,, “Now I sit on this panel and I’m being asked ‘How can we do this better’ even though I’m being told it’s still going to happen … Boothbay lobsterman Eben Wilson, “People have been telling me it’s such a great opportunity to have a seat at the table, and I’m like, a seat at the table? For what? To tell them how to cut my throat better? Or how to cut it slower?” >click to read< 09:02
Lobstermen Protest Offshore Wind Farm in the Gulf of Maine
An ambitious wind power project in the Gulf of Maine could, years from now, make these family lobster dinners less frequent. Local lobstermen believe offshore wind will significantly disrupt the ecosystem and displace fishermen. Supporters say a project will provide clean energy for the region.,, “When you think of Maine, lobster’s the first thing that comes to mind,” Dustin Delano, a fourth-generation lobsterman and the Vice President of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, told me a story about fishermen from the United Kingdom coming to Maine a few years ago to discuss the windmill arrays which had been recently installed where they fish. One Mainer asked, “What would you do if you were us right now?” An English fisherman leaned over the table and said, “Fight it with everything you have, because you have everything to lose and absolutely nothing to gain.” >click to read< 17:04
Lobstermen united against Monhegan offshore wind project
In one of Maine’s biggest lobster harbors, close to 100 fishermen and their supporters packed the town dock to stand, side by side, in opposition to offshore wind power development in the Gulf of Maine. For the fishermen, the events of the week have hardened their resolve to fight the wind turbine project, which they say will be just the beginning of more platforms being installed in years ahead. They insist the development will damage the Gulf of Maine, “It’s not about anti-wind, it’s not about anti-green,” said Friendship wharf owner Jim Wotton. “It’s about preserving the Gulf of Maine.” Video, >click to read< 12:21
‘How do we stop it?’ – Lobstermen voice concerns over wind farm development in meeting with regulators
The state Gov. Janet Mills is telling Monhegan Island-area lobstermen to remove fishing gear from the path of a survey vessel, or the Marine Patrol will.,, In text and email messages sent to lobstermen Wednesday morning, DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher says he has been directed to ask the state Marine Patrol to move gear away from the route if the vessel is unable to continue its work. He also says DMR is working with the vessel to make sure it keeps its operations within a defined pathway. Keliher and other officials in Gov. Janet Mills’ administration did not immediately return requests for comment. >click to read< 10:02
Maine lobstermen protest Monhegan-area wind project
More than 80 lobster boats lined up between Monhegan Island and Boothbay Harbor on Sunday to protest a seabed survey for a planned offshore wind turbine near Monhegan. “The boat hasn’t been staying in the survey route, and there’s been some issues with gear loss,” Dustin Delano, a lobsterman from Friendship who helped organize the protest, said this weekend. Delano estimated that more than 80 boats joined him around 9 a.m. Sunday south of Monhegan Island, where a 12-megawatt test turbine billed as the first commercial-scale project in the nation would demonstrate the viability of offshore wind as a renewable power source. The fishermen formed a single-file line that Delano said stretched roughly 2 miles, and then traced the route back to land. >click to read< 07:05
Dozens of lobster boats gather off Monhegan to protest floating wind turbine – Gov. Janet Mills is proposing to build more of the floating wind turbines farther offshore in the Gulf of Maine. video, >click to read<
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
Maine Governor Janet Mills plans to create 1st floating offshore wind research farm in US
Gov. Janet Mills said Friday that she plans to create the nation’s first floating offshore wind research farm in the Gulf of Maine,,, The site of the array, which is expected to contain up to a dozen floating wind turbines, is undetermined but will be 20 to 40 miles offshore in an area that would allow a connection to the mainland electric grid for the southern half of the state.,, Mills has directed the Governor’s Energy Office to collaborate with the commercial fishing industry and other state agencies,,, >click to read< 18:10
