Tag Archives: offshore wind farm
Work halted on huge windfarm in North Sea amid rising costs
Energy giant Orsted has said it is stopping work on one of the UK’s biggest upcoming offshore wind projects, in a blow to the Government’s clean energy plans. The world’s largest offshore wind developer said it will halt its Hornsea 4 project, a massive, planned wind farm in the North Sea that could have powered more than one million homes. Orsted said the project had suffered rising supply chain costs, higher interest rates and increasing risk of not finishing the project on time. It said the problems had “increased the execution risk and deteriorated the value creation of the project”. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:50
Equinor Says it Could Lose Billions on Trump’s Offshore Wind Clampdown
Equinor stands to lose billions of dollars on its massive wind power project offshore the state of New York unless U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration reverses a decision to halt the construction, the Norwegian group said on Wednesday. In a blow to the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on April 16 the Biden administration had failed to conduct enough environmental analysis before approving the Empire Wind development. Equinor on Wednesday said the project was about 30% complete at the time it was halted and that it planned to meet with U.S. government officials to seek a reversal of what the company called an unlawful order while it considered its legal options. Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:09
Editor’s Log: Offshore Wind Hits The Rocks
By now, you’ve probably seen the headlines: the Trump administration has pulled the plug – at least temporarily – on the Empire Wind project off New York’s coast. For some, it came as a gut punch to the offshore wind industry. For others, it was a long-overdue reality check. But no matter where you stand on the issue, there’s no denying that this move has rekindled a national debate that’s been simmering beneath the surface for years: should massive offshore wind developments really be fast-tracked in the name of clean energy without a full accounting of their environmental and economic consequences? To the Biden-era regulators who greenlit this project, the answer was a confident “yes.” To the Trump administration now back in power, it’s a hard “not so fast.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:01
Trump pulls plug on Maine’s offshore wind project
The Trump administration has pulled the plug on a $12.6 million federal grant for the University of Maine to build the nation’s first offshore wind turbine research project. The U.S. Department of Energy recently informed the university that it must stop work on the floating research array — which is partially completed — alleging that Maine failed to comply with the terms of the award for a quarter-scale demonstration of offshore turbines it is developing. The department said it is “suspending all activity under this award” for 90 days while it conducts a financial review of the project. The letter didn’t specify any violation by the university. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:27
Biden green energy project halted by Trump admin relied on rushed, bad science, study finds
A $5 billion green energy project touted by the Biden administration and Democrats was rushed and relied on faulty science that could have resulted in severe negative environmental impacts, a new study found. The Empire Wind Project, which was being developed by energy company “Equinor” and was slated to see the construction of 147 ocean wind turbines off the coasts of New York and New Jersey, was halted by the Trump Department of the Interior in a move announced this week. The project was estimated to cost a total of $5 billion and was being developed under contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:27
Trump Admin Halts New York Offshore Wind Project, Orders Review of All Existing Biden-Era Wind Permits
The Trump administration is halting construction of a massive offshore wind project being built in federal waters off the coast of New York and ordering a sprawling review of existing offshore wind permits, the Washington Free Beacon has learned. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Wednesday to order foreign energy developer Equinor to cease all construction activities on its Empire Wind project, according to a memorandum obtained by the Free Beacon. Burgum said the Biden administration green-lit permits for the project and ultimately approved it without conducting proper analysis. “Approval for the project was rushed through by the prior administration without sufficient analysis or consultation among the relevant agencies as relates to the potential effects from the project,” Burgum wrote. He said the halt on Empire Wind will be in effect indefinitely until further review is completed to “address these serious deficiencies.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:31
Massive turbine power being built off NY coast despite Trump ban on offshore wind projects
A massive wind power project off the coast of New York blew past President Trump’s executive order to block or pause all new wind energy leasing in federal waterways, which opponents claim will destroy aquatic life and the commercial fishing industry. Norway-based Equinor, which already had all the necessary lease and permit approvals from the feds before Trump’s January 20 executive order went into effect, confirmed that it has started construction at the site — laying rock as the foundation for the giant 54 wind turbines — 15 miles off the coast of Long Beach. The fishing industry also claims offshore wind farms are dangerous hot air. “The whole fishing industry economy could be lost,” said Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association. Photos, links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:55
All Sides Struggling to Find Common Ground for Potential Compensation Package
Compensation talks among the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, US Wind, Worcester County and commercial fishermen have reached a stalemate. As US Wind continues its efforts to buy two properties in the West Ocean City harbor, DNR is working on a deal for commercial fishermen who would be impacted. Those talks have been ongoing for nearly a year, and on Friday, March 28, DNR met with Worcester County officials and commercial fishermen, hoping to iron out the details before coming to a final agreement. Commercial fisherman Sonny Gwin was at Friday’s meeting. He said money and a new fish house are not the solution here. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:45
Beach Town Poised to Use Green Left’s Favorite Legal Strategy Against Massive Offshore Wind Project
The town of Nantucket, Massachusetts looks set to use one of the green left’s go-to legal strategies against a massive offshore wind farm supported by liberal environmentalists. Environmental groups have used “sue and settle” tactics — wherein plaintiffs sue an aligned administration to kill a disfavored project, which the aligned administration effectively does via settlement — for decades to impede infrastructure projects they oppose. Now, Nantucket is suing the Trump administration and alleging that key procedural laws were not followed in Biden-era approvals for the massive SouthCoast wind farm off the island’s coast, teeing up a potential “sue and settle” situation that could derail a major project supported by the green left. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:44
Federal environmental permit gets yanked from N.J. offshore wind farm
In what may be the most striking blow to an offshore wind farm since President Donald Trump took office, a project for New Jersey’s coast had a critical federal environmental permit yanked away Friday. Judge Mary Kay Lynch, in an Environmental Appeals Court, issued the ruling to remand Atlantic Shores’ Clean Air Act permit, which the developer had been issued this past fall. The latest setback for the company comes after a challenge from a group of residents — as part of the local group Save Long Beach Island or “Save LBI” — and is being sent back to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for further review. “This is a significant event because to my knowledge it is the first time that a federal approval for any offshore wind project has been overturned,” Bob Stern, who leads Save LBI, said in a statement Saturday, “and it highlights the lack of full disclosure and questionable science and mathematics that has characterized other applications and approvals.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:24
Damaged Wind Turbine that Polluted Nantucket Beaches Last Year Further Damaged in Lightning Strike
Lightning struck a wind turbine off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, last week, further damaging a turbine operated by Vineyard Wind that made headlines last year when its blade fell off, polluting the ocean and nearby beaches. “The coverup blows on. Vineyard Wind’s lack of transparency around the structural integrity of its mammoth wind turbines is deeply frustrating to fishermen,” said Jerry Leeman, CEO of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association. “In fact, Vineyard Wind officials met in February with officials from the Bureau of Safety and Environment Enforcement to discuss improving communications over safety issues. Foreign offshore wind developers seem breezily dismissive of commercial fishermen,” he added. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:15
Broken Vineyard Wind Turbine Struck by Lightning
The same Vineyard Wind turbine blade that snapped in half last summer now appears to have been struck by lightning, according to the company and the U.S. Coast Guard. On Sunday, officials confirmed that the turbine at the southernmost end of the Vineyard Wind lease off Martha’s Vineyard was apparently hit by lightning late last week, damaging the already broken blade. The Coast Guard reported a strike occurred on Feb. 27, and it was working with Vineyard Wind to ensure there were no navigational hazards in the area. Vineyard Wind, in a statement Sunday afternoon, said a preliminary inspection indicated that the blade had been hit by lightning, and the company was continuing to assess the damage. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:52
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Pause
When your friends think you wrong and your opponents are saying nice things, a reevaluation of your position might be in order. Did it. It was still correct for the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy to put Virginia’s energy ratepayers first and express concern for the financial harm they might suffer if a wind turbine project gets cancelled. Dominion Energy Virginia’s offshore wind project, now with a $10.7 billion price tag (not including decades of profit), is about half complete. A call to pause and perhaps cancel it was issued by a consortium of wind energy opponents from multiple states. President Donald Trump’s Executive Order has called for a review of pending projects, but it apparently did not pause Dominion’s and three other projects already under construction. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:25
Trump on Track to Halt Wind Farms Approved Off LBI
A local grassroots organization is continuing its battle in the courtroom to have offshore wind farms off Long Beach Island and Brigantine scrapped in perpetuity without a chance of being revived in the future, even as President-elect Donald J. Trump prepares to deliver on his campaign promise to permanently stop offshore wind energy projects off the East Coast under his administration. A presidential executive order halting wind turbine activity off the East Coast is expected to be finalized in the first few months of his second presidency. “These offshore wind projects should never have been approved in the first place,” Congressman Jeff Van Drew said Jan. 13, adding he has been working closely with Trump to draft the order, which also lays the groundwork for permanent measures against the projects. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:32
VIEWPOINT: Offshore Wind Turbines – Trouble on the Horizon?
The state’s actions to facilitate a project that will provide no electricity to Delaware and makes one wonder how disruption to our fragile offshore and onshore ecosystem will benefit the citizens of Delaware. As in the contract, US Wind will “monitor” the damage to the fragile ecosystem of the Inland Bays. This in itself is an admission to damage such as changes to nutrient levels, pollutants from construction degrading water quality, damage to fish, shellfish, bay grasses, and other marine life that most believe will not help heal the fragile ecosystem of the Inland Bays but further add to the detrimental changes for minimal actual benefit to Delawareans. Additionally, wind turbines broadcast underwater low-frequency vibrations and create large electromagnetic fields around the miles-long high-voltage transmission lines. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< Representative Jeff Hilovsky 10:41
One Morro Bay Wind Energy project leaseholder to pause surveying
Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization Vice President Jeremiah O’Brien says his organization recently received a call from a liaison to the Atlas Wind project by Equinor. “They’re pulling back on the whole operation, and they said they might be here in 2026 or 2027,” O’Brien said. Equinor told KSBY a decision was made this summer to prioritize more advanced projects along the East Coast and for the time being, they are pausing surveying of the project. “It’s the best news we’ve had in the last few years,” O’Brien said. “Fishermen can’t fish in an area that’s been occupied by wind,” O’Brien said. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:20
BOEM releases potential impacts from offshore wind farm in draft environmental impact statement
The area proposed for the Morro Bay Wind Energy Project is located 20 miles offshore and encompasses around 376 square miles. It lists air pollution from boats, construction, and equipment as one potential impact of the development. That’s a concern for the Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization. “There will be little left for the fishing industry and also all of the ships’ traffic and debris,” said Jeremiah O’Brien, Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization Vice President. O’Brien has other concerns with the report also citing an increased risk of injury or death to marine mammals due to vessel strikes and disturbances from underwater noise during construction. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:31
Vineyard Wind Withstands Another Legal Challenge
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. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:47
Ocean City continues with lawsuit following US Wind receiving final approval
US Wind, Inc. announced Tuesday that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has granted final approval for the company’s Construction and Operations Plan, completing the federal permitting process for its offshore wind project. However, the project has faced significant opposition from the Ocean City community and other local organizations. The Town of Ocean City, joined by groups such as the Worcester County Commissioners, Coastal Association of Realtors and the Commercial and Recreational Fishing Industry, say they will continue to move forward with a lawsuit against BOEM to challenge its approval of US Wind’s project. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:41
Save LBI Stays Course Despite Trump’s Promise to Kill Offshore Wind
While President-elect Donald Trump is expected to make sweeping changes to the national energy policy, including doing away with offshore wind on Day 1 of his new term, a local grassroots organization isn’t letting that news get in its way of fighting the construction of what is poised to be the country’s largest wind farm some 9 miles off the coast of Long Beach Island. “We will be filing major lawsuits by the end of the month to invalidate at least some of those prior federal approvals,” Bob Stern, president and cofounder of Save LBI, said just days after voters returned Trump to office for a second term. “In addition, we will be seeking to have the lease area itself canceled so that new projects will not be resurrected in the future.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:05
It’s Time to Abandon UMaine’s Offshore Wind Scheme in Favor of Cheaper Alternatives
The federal government this week blocked a proposal that would have allowed the Mills Administration and labor unions to bulldoze Sears Island into an industrial wind power port. Although this hard-fought victory is good news for fishermen, ratepayers, taxpayers, and the environment, it’s only temporary. The Mills Administration has given no indication that it will stop its relentless pursuit of expensive and unworkable offshore wind schemes. Depending on how Election Day turns out, the Legislature could be back at the drawing board devising other ways to enrich the wind turbine industry and destroy pristine ocean environments. So it’s worth remembering how we got here, and how Maine’s institutions and media became witting and unwitting pawns in an expensive game of crony capitalism. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:35
More Vineyard Wind blades must be removed, repaired
Vineyard Wind must remove an unknown number of blades that have already been installed south of Martha’s Vineyard while it repairs others, the company announced Wednesday. The project also received permission from the federal government this week to resume blade installation after it removes and repairs the components in the coming weeks. The latest announcement suggests investigations found more defective blades similar to the blade that failed in July and comes after the project quietly delivered at least four turbine blades from New Bedford to Cherbourg, France, where GE Vernova operates a blade manufacturing plant. >more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:48
RWE and National Grid Propose New York’s Largest Offshore Wind Project
German utility RWE and New York power company National Grid have announced a proposal to build a 2.8 GW wind park off Long Island, the largest offshore wind power plan yet submitted to New York state energy regulator NYSERDA. It is the second time that it has submitted its Community Offshore Wind project for NYSERDA’s approval: the previous bid was awarded, then canceled when the economic viability of first-generation U.S. offshore wind projects soured. RWE and National Grid won a lease area in the New York Bight at auction in 2022, one of several awarded that year. The site has the potential for up to 3 GW of nameplate capacity, about a third of New York’s 2030 target of 9 GW. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:56
Pickup of seabed debris at Vineyard Wind broken turbine underway
Work is underway to recover debris that sank to the seafloor below Vineyard Wind’s AW-38 turbine when the blade broke apart in July, according to GE Vernova, the company that manufactures and installs the turbine parts. Efforts began on Sunday and were ongoing as of Tuesday afternoon. It’s been three months since one of the three football field-sized blades on turbine AW-38 collapsed, sending pieces of fiberglass, rigid foam and balsawood crashing into the ocean. Large pieces immediately sank, but other debris of varying sizes washed ashore on Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, parts of Cape Cod and along Narragansett Bay for weeks afterwards. Some beach walkers are still reporting finding small remnants. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:33
Offshore wind farm in N.J. draws concerns over cable path
Atlantic Shores is a joint partnership between Shell New Energies US LLC and EDF-RE Offshore Development LLC. “Responsibly developed offshore wind is a critical component in a clean energy future, which will fight climate change, create union jobs and improve the air quality in overburdened communities,” said Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. Offshore wind foes, who are particularly vocal and well-organized in New Jersey, vowed to try to keep the project from ever being built. “We understand this development would be devastating for the marine and coastal habitats, and it would destroy the Jersey Shore as we know it,” said Robin Shaffer, president of Protect Our Coast NJ. The bureau said the power cables for the project will “potentially” come ashore in Atlantic City and Sea Girt. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:49
New Jersey hits pause on an offshore wind farm that can’t find turbine blades
New Jersey hit the pause button Wednesday on an offshore wind energy project that is having a hard time finding someone to manufacture blades for its turbines. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities granted Leading Light Wind a pause on its project through Dec. 20 while its developers seek a source for the crucial components. The project, from Chicago-based Invenergy and New York-based energyRE, would be built 40 miles (65 kilometers) off Long Beach Island and would consist of up to 100 turbines, enough to power 1 million homes. Leading Light was one of two projects that the state utilities board chose in January. But just three weeks after that approval, one of three major turbine manufacturers, GE Vernova, said it would not announce the kind of turbine Invenergy planned to use in the Leading Light Project, according to the filing with the utilities board. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:23
How a Newport advisory commission ended up a part of the anti-offshore wind controversy
One of the city’s volunteer advisory commissions was accused of censorship after denying an offer to put opponents of current offshore wind farm projects as experts on a series of educational panels on climate change and offshore wind. While offshore wind opponents, including Councilor David Carlin, argued that the educational panel’s lack of offshore wind opponents made the series unbalanced and unfair, Carlin’s resolution to sponsor a panel of anti-offshore wind speakers was shot down by the rest of City Council for being outside the council’s jurisdiction. In a statement regarding the response from the community and Carlin’s resolution, the commission said the events were designed to be “educational and informational” engagements with experts from their field, not a debate or public hearing. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:04
Maine’s mysterious floating wind research
The State of Maine just got a very strange offshore wind lease from the Feds. They call it a research lease as opposed to a commercial development lease. It has some mysterious features that are worth pondering. There may even be a many billion-dollar trick here. We consider that at the end, after briefly explaining the mysteries. To begin with, the lease is for a 144 MW “research array” of turbines, as it is called. Well, 144 MW is huge for research. The South Fork Wind site (fixed, not floating) that is already running is a 12-turbine, 132 MW commercial facility, so this array will be bigger than commercial. It could cost $3 billion-plus the cost of the factory to make the dozen or so floaters. Different websites suggest different turbine sizes from 10 to 12 MW. Of course, if this is really research, they might use a variety of sizes, but the total is still huge. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:14
New NOAA opinion: Wind farm pile driving causing “temporary disturbance” causing “temporary disturbance”
The federal government has issued a new “biological opinion” on Vineyard Wind’s offshore energy project 14 miles southwest of Nantucket, finding that pile-driving noise associated its construction is likely to adversely affect, but not likely jeopardize, the continued existence of whales, fish and sea turtles listed under the Endangered Species Act. “It will have no effect on any designated critical habitat,” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries said in a statement. “NOAA Fisheries does not anticipate serious injuries to or mortalities of any Endangered Species Act listed whale including the North Atlantic right whale.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:01
Fishing Flotilla Protests at Still-Damaged Vineyard Wind Turbine as Debris Continues to Wash Ashore
A flotilla of fishermen from across the East Coast gathered yesterday near the site of a damaged Vineyard Wind turbine to protest the perceived risks posed by offshore wind projects to the ocean and maritime communities. The protest, which also included a “Hands Across the Beach” demonstration on shore, highlighted growing concerns among fishermen about the impact of large-scale wind farms on their livelihoods and the environment. Vineyard Wind, which has been constructing towering turbine structures off the coast, has faced increasing criticism from local fishing communities. The concerns have escalated following a turbine blade failure in July that left fiberglass debris in the surrounding waters. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:53
