Tag Archives: offshore wind farms
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
A new Battle Between Worcester County and U.S. Wind
The offshore wind company is still moving forward with plans for a facility in the West Ocean City Harbor. County leaders have taken issue with this, because U.S. Wind’s desired location could uproot the commercial fishing industry. The packhouse at the end of the harbor allows commercial fisherman to make their living in West Ocean City. That packhouse however, sits on the property where U.S. plans on building a new facility. Dave Wilson with U.S. Wind told us on Wednesday, they didn’t find the property on their own. “We were approached by the two property owners at the harbor, we did not approach them they approached us, and we needed some space there,” said Wilson. Worcester County Commissioner Joe Mitrecic said the size of that pier, in relation to U.S. Wind’s overall plans, makes him skeptical. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:17
Flying over Sears Island puts the offshore wind debate in context
A bird’s-eye view can show you a lot about a place — its size and shape, its hidden contours, and the water, forests, roads and development around it. I got this landscape-level view of part of Penobscot Bay last week. I flew in a small propeller plane between Belfast, Searsport and Stockton Springs, up to the mouth of the Penobscot River where it flows from Bucksport around Verona Island, and back again. On my Penobscot Bay flight, we flew from Belfast’s tiny airstrip out over Sears Island, which is mostly undeveloped but still accessible by road. We could see the part of the island where the state wants to build the wind port, an area about one tenth the island’s size. Mack Point is where opponents of the Sears Island project say they want the port built. It was considered by the state’s Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group over the past two years. Sprague has since proposed a new approach to using the site for the port, which groups like Friends of Sears Island are pushing for. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:53
Opinion: Rhode Island needs to call a hiatus on offshore wind projects amid blade failures
The recent spate of offshore wind turbine blade failures should be a wake-up call for both the industry and our policymakers. Recently, a Vineyard Wind turbine off Nantucket suffered a catastrophic failure of a 350-foot-long fiberglass turbine blade that dumped 110,000 pounds of fiberglass, epoxy and foam into the ocean. The Vineyard Wind project has been ordered by the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to cease operation and halt further construction activities pending an investigation. Public support for these projects has collapsed. A flash poll conducted by a Providence television station showed 85% of respondents do not support building these turbines. more, >>CLICK TO READ<<, by Martin Kits van Heyningen 06:58
GE Vernova finds Manufacturing Defect after Vineyard Wind Turbine Accident
The company is facing scrutiny after a massive blade fell into the ocean July 13 at the project in Massachusetts, stopping construction at the nation’s biggest offshore wind farm. Strazik said there’s no sign of a design flaw in its Haliade-X offshore turbine, but it’s halting production at the Gaspe, Canada, plant while the company inspects its blades. “The blade left the factory with insufficient bonding — the glue,” Strazik said. The Gaspe plant in Quebec has been in production since 2006 and has made about 150 offshore blades, including most of the blades for the Vineyard Wind project that experienced the blade failure. Strazik declined to say how many offshore blades have been produced to date at the company’s three blade plants. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:07
BOEM Hears Mostly Opposition at a Meeting in Eastham
Local officials on the Outer Cape have for a month been calling for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to hold a public information session here about one of eight proposed wind energy areas in the Gulf of Maine — the one sited about 20 miles off Cape Cod’s back shore — before its size and shape are approved. BOEM, the agency of the Dept. of Interior that is charged with managing the development of offshore wind, finally did that on June 17, and some 200 people turned out at the Four Points by Sheraton for it. BOEM announced the meeting only six days before it was held. Statements about possible negative effects of the development on commercial fishing dominated the meeting. Many of those who spoke identified themselves as fishermen or the wives of fishermen and said that they feared their livelihoods would be lost because of the construction of wind turbines. Truro lobsterman Dana Pazolt said he believes the cables would serve as a barrier to lobster migration. “You run the wires across the seabed, our industry is dead,” he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 20:43
Humboldt County Officials Respond to Recent Turbine Blade Collapse at East Coast Vineyard Wind Farm
Operations were suspended this week at Vineyard Wind 1, an offshore wind farm located about 35 miles off the coast of mainland Massachusetts, after a damaged wind turbine blade broke apart and fell into the ocean. The cause of the incident remains unknown. Project developer Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is an affiliate of Vineyard Offshore, the company planning to build a floating offshore wind farm here on the North Coast. In a statement issued Monday, Vineyard officials noted that the project is still in its commissioning phase and offered reassurance that the company has “detailed plans to guide its response” to such incidents. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:37
Vineyard Wind Turbine Failure: Incident Details, Regulatory Response, and Industry Implications
On July 13, 2024, an offshore wind turbine at the Vineyard Wind 1 project experienced a significant blade failure, leading to debris washing up on Nantucket’s beaches and prompting a federal shutdown of the wind farm. This incident raises obvious questions about the safety and reliability of offshore wind projects, as well as the regulatory framework governing this emerging industry. In the days following the incident, debris from the broken turbine blade began washing up on Nantucket’s south shore beaches. Residents reported finding pieces of green and white foam, along with larger pieces of fiberglass, stretching from Madaket to Nobadeer. In response to the incident, the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) ordered Vineyard Wind to shut down operations “until further notice”. The BSEE, which oversees offshore energy projects, sent a team of experts to work closely with Vineyard Wind on analyzing the cause of the incident and determining next steps. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:22
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
Fishing Industry Remains Concerned with Offshore Wind Power
East End residents will soon be another step closer to wind power and away from fossil fuel; but local commercial fishermen are raising objections. And East Enders are waiting to hear how much this wind power project will mean for new utility rates. The federal government earlier this spring approved what it calls a “record of decision” for a Denmark-based company, Orsted, to build one of the largest offshore wind farms planned for Nassau and Suffolk counties. The decision by the U.S. Department of the Interior is among the last steps to build the windfarm, known as Sunrise Wind, an 84-turbine plant, before actual construction can begin. Both Sunrise Wind and South Fork Wind are in the waters off Massachusetts and Rhode Island. South Fork Wind’s cable comes ashore in Wainscott. Sunrise Wind has a power cable running more than 100 miles to Smith Point County Park, before beginning a 17 mile trip through Brookhaven Town to a substation in Holtsville. more,>>CLICK TO READ<< 18:05
Will offshore wind presence get even bigger off Ocean City?
The first auction of 2024 for more land leased for offshore wind off the Delmarva Peninsula was cleared for Aug. 14 after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released the Central Atlantic Final Sale Notice. The notice is the last step required by the agency to hold a lease auction for the Central Atlantic region, which includes offshore areas in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. In total, the area available for lease covers more than 275,000 acres, enough to develop up to 6.3 GW of offshore wind energy capacity. Detractors for the expansion of offshore wind in Maryland, like Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md-1st, took aim at the decision, noting there were still a number of environmental issues surrounding plans for turbines. “We should never allow foreign-owned offshore wind companies to control our energy supply — much less harm our marine life while doing it,” said a spokesperson for Harris. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:51
Letter: Dear BOEM
Your project of installing a wind power farm off the coast of Southern Oregon is in total disregard for the environment, economics, and people therein. The vibrations of the offshore turbines will alter the fishing grounds and the migration of whales, tuna, and salmon for years and destroy commercial fishing that feeds millions of people. The turbines will have to be in restricted waters. That will be followed by restricting the waters where the cables are laid (can’t have nets, anchors, et cetera dragged through). Next, your $$$moneymen will have to find land to bring the cabled power on shore thus trashing even more of the scenic coast of Oregon. And where will you house all the needed labor considering the critical housing shortage at this location? Confiscation via eminent domain perhaps? more, >>CLICK TO READ<< By Raymond J Van Eck 07:11
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
Littleproud predicts rough seas ahead for Illawarra wind zone under Coalition government
A future Coalition government would not allow a wind energy zone to be developed off the Illawarra coast, Nationals Leader David Littleproud said in Wollongong on Monday (17 June). To the cheers of a group of anti-wind zone protesters at Belmore Basin, Mr Littleproud said the Coalition would stop wind farms from going ahead. “There will be no wind zone, there is a better way to do this. Make no mistake, we’re going to live up to our international commitments, but we’re not going to tear away your economy, your environment and tear up the social cohesion of this great community,” he said. Mr Littleproud and NSW Nationals Senator Ross Cadell visited the region following the weekend declaration by Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen of a 1022 square km wind zone area, 20 km off the coast. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:53
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
Editor’s Log: Mitigate This! by Jim Hutchinson, Jr.
Last month I received notification from the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) of a fisheries compensation fund deadline for financial losses stemming from construction of the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm about 13 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, MA. MAFMC clearly recognizes that the construction of a large-scale offshore wind site like Vineyard Wind 1 will result in “financial losses” in the fishing community, yet the only members of the fishing industry eligible to receive compensation apparently are “commercial fishing vessel owners/operators.” Sounds like anglers should keep any eye out while watching late-night television for the best personal injury lawyer able to secure the future compensation we deserve! “The Program was created to provide compensation to commercial fishing vessels/operators for economic losses attributable to construction, operation, and decommissioning activities of Vineyard Wind 1,” the MAFMC notice stated. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:30
Scots overwhelmingly supportive of fishing sector – Polling shows UK-produced food as important as UK-produced energy
A large majority of Scots are backing the fishing industry amid growing pressure on fishing grounds, in a reminder to politicians not to neglect an important sector ahead of the general election. A new poll commissioned by the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) reveals that 19 in 20 (95.7%) of Scots believe it is important for the UK to retain control over its fisheries. The poll also highlights that 91% agree fishing is a vital part of the UK economy. Additionally, 89.7% of people agree that UK-produced food is just as important as UK-produced energy. These issues will be debated by an election hustings panel including Kate Forbes, Rhoda Grant, Rachael Hamilton and Alastair Carmichael in Edinburgh tomorrow (12 June) at an event hosted by SFF. Please find attached the release and images for use. Please let me know if you have any further questions. Thanks.
Offshore wind farm lease auction plan has Gulf of Maine fishermen feeling brushed aside
The prospect of hundreds of offshore wind turbines generating power in the Gulf of Maine is moving forward with plans to auction eight leases in a large swath of waters off the New England coast. Jerry Leeman III, the CEO of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, said there’s not enough data to support the areas that have been chosen for wind development. As now laid out, the plan could take away valuable fishing grounds from New England’s fishing fleet, pose navigational hazards and create new environmental threats, he said. “We still have more questions than we have answers,” he said. “Yet we’re moving ahead with the leasing ahead of the science.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:37
The anti-windfarm ‘odd couple’ joining forces to fight the renewable energy projects Australia’s already failing to build
Deep in coal country, a lifelong environmentalist and one-time Greens candidate is feeling the applause. It’s Thursday night at a Gladstone pub and Steven Nowakowski has won over sceptical locals. His message is a simple one; he believes a wave of new windfarm developments threatens to smash hilltops and turn koala habitat into “industrial zones”. The green movement, he says, are in “la-la land” over windfarms, a comment that draws nods and knowing smiles from the audience. But its only when one local suggests building a new coal-fired power station does the crowd erupt in spontaneous applause. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:59
Newly released data reveals record number of cetacean deaths in UK waters
Tragically, more than 1000 whales, dolphins and porpoises were stranded around the UK in 2018 – and it was a similar number the following year with 980 cetaceans reported to the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) in 2019. What is causing the huge upturn in cetacean deaths around the UK? There could be a number of factors of course, there are many theories out there, but at least in the case of the Sperm whales in Yorkshire, we can largely rule out ship strike and entanglement, often casually blamed for the deaths of marine mammals. Whatever your hypothesis, whether you choose to blame climate change, naval sonar, fishing, pollution or plastics, don’t ignore the elephant in the room – industrial offshore wind farms. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:37
Letter: No. 1 Concern Is Offshore Wind Impact on Ocean
I am the fourth generation of residents, homeowners, business owners and taxpayers on Long Beach Island, as well as the granddaughter of a commercial fisherman and scalloper out of Barnegat Light. I take offense when someone says I have a case of the NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard). This is the country’s entire coastal backyard. I am not opposed to “green” energy or for fossil fuels. I am against the destruction of our ocean. Period. The amount of resources the world receives from the ocean is immeasurable. I am not concerned with the view or real estate, tourism and the rest. Of course, all of that will be colossally impacted. My main concern is with the destruction of one of the world’s most precious resources, our ocean. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:43
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
Would offshore wind turbines save or ruin the Jersey Shore? Debaters rumble in Berkeley
Police officers filled Central Regional High School on Tuesday night, where tensions ran high as critics and proponents of electricity generated by offshore wind faced off with impassioned speeches during a hearing held by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Capt. Ed Baxter, a scalloper who docks at Point Pleasant Beach, said dredging to bury the power cables outside of important fishing areas, such as the Manasquan Inlet and Shark River, would have serious impacts on commercial fishermen. Rose Willis, a member of the Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative of Point Pleasant Beach, said that not only would local commercial fishing companies be affected by the offshore wind project, but also many small businesses that service or buy from their industry. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:14
Andrew Montford: Politicians must drop their ‘Comical Ali’ approach to offshore wind costs
According to officials at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), offshore wind power is around half the cost of electricity from gas turbines. But in Parliament recently, David Frost exposed the problem with this claim. If what DESNZ says is true, he observed, it is hard to understand why we still have to subsidise windfarms. And harder still to understand why we have just had to give them a 70 per cent increase in the guaranteed price they receive. It was striking that the energy minister Martin Callanan, responding for the Government, failed to answer the question, merely reiterating the claim that wind is cheaper than gas. His evasion tells a story and highlights the great deception at the heart of the Net Zero policy. For years, governments have told us of a revolution in windfarms costs. Developers may even have believed it themselves, submitting extraordinarily low bids into the renewables auctions. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:18
SLO County judge rules against local fishermen
A San Luis Obispo County judge last week rejected a request from Morro Bay and Port San Luis fishermen for a preliminary injunction to stop wind energy companies from surveying the ocean floor. Signed into law in Oct. 2023, Senate Bill 286 requires the statewide strategy for wind energy to include best practices for addressing impacts to commercial and recreational fisheries. Local fishermen argue wind companies have failed to follow best practices because they have not put protocols in place to protect the fishing industry. San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen found the requirements in Senate Bill 286 vague. Specifically, when the protocols and protections need to be in place: before or after work is completed. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:48
Letter to the editor in rebuttal of “Anonymous”
Recently Fishery Nation published an opinion piece first published in Granitegrok.com entitled “Something Smells Like Rotten Fish”. I agree: the rotten fish is the anonymous author. My name is David Goethel, and I am a semi-retired commercial fisherman with over fifty five years’
experience and author of the book Endangered Species about my life as a small boat fishermen in New Hampshire. I am also a dues paying member of the New Hampshire Commercial Fishermen’s Association. The author states Erik Anderson supports offshore wind and selectively quotes from the electronic newsletter to support his belief. Nothing could be further from the truth and reading anonymous’ comments I feel like I am in a “through the looking glass” moment. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:44
Something Smells like Rotten Fish in NH
Commercial fishermen are scratching their heads over the direction in which Erik Anderson, the president of the New Hampshire Commercial Fishermen’s Association (NHCFA), is taking their supposed organization. There is not one commercial or sport fisherman that supports offshore wind (OSW) in the Gulf of Maine except Eric Anderson. The construction and operation of these monsters have affected marine life, from the largest endangered whale to the smallest crustaceans. In a recent post, Mr. Anderson sent his members, he quotes, “It’s finally taking shape,” referring to the upcoming BOEM meetings and pending OSW in the Gulf of Maine. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:32
Trump Vows ‘Day One’ Executive Order Targeting Offshore Wind
Donald Trump vowed to issue an executive order targeting offshore wind development if he wins a second term as president, making his most explicit threat yet toward the growing industry. The presumptive Republican nominee derided offshore wind projects as lethal for birds and whales during his oceanfront rally Saturday in Wildwood, New Jersey, and committed to take action. “We are going to make sure that that ends on day one,” he said. “I’m going to write it out in an executive order.” While Trump has made no secret of his animus to wind power, he had adopted a mostly hands-off posture during his first term in the White House. The remarks in New Jersey suggest he may take a more aggressive stance if given a second. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:03
SLO County fishing industry in peril, judge to consider injunction
Geographic survey work by Equinor’s Island Pride last seven days
Fishermen from Morro Bay and Port San Luis are seeking a preliminary injunction to stop wind energy companies from surveying the ocean floor. Local fishermen report catch numbers are down 67% to 70% since one company recently began using sonar off the coast. On Feb. 29, two groups of commercial fishermen filed a legal challenge against the state’s wind energy plans, arguing the process violates their constitutional right to fish. The lawsuit asks the court to revoke survey permits and not to allow any new permits until proper mitigation and protections are in place. Sam Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen found this is a proper case for a preliminary injunction, according to an order to show cause. Judge van Rooyen ordered Equinor to show cause why he should not order the injunction at a hearing scheduled for May 15. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:53
