Tag Archives: Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland

First offshore wind leases off the Texas coast offered for bidding

The federal government on Thursday announced the first-ever chance for companies to lease areas in the Gulf of Mexico to build wind farms, including two parcels roughly 30 miles off the Texas coast near Galveston. Renewable energy developers will likely compete for the leases with firms that are better known for another kind of offshore construction: Oil and gas giants such as Shell and TotalEnergies qualified to join the bidding. Leaders of the traditionally fossil fuel-focused companies say their climate goals make investing in offshore wind critical. Both businesses are already involved in developing wind power in the Atlantic, including near New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts. >click to read< 10:02

Fishermen voice concerns about Humboldt County offshore wind farm project

While the proposed wind energy area off Humboldt Bay is estimated to have a minimal to low impact on the region’s commercial fishing, some industry members do not fully agree with site assessment and characterization survey findings. During a virtual meeting hosted Tuesday morning by BOEM,,, Pacific Seafood consultant Mike Okoniewski stated during public comment most fishermen in the region he has spoken to about the project have not been reached to participate in the discussion. Eureka-based fisherman Travis Hunter also voiced concerns over potential impacts on the local fishing industry. He stated that the relevant reports do not state how the project will displace the fishing industry. >click to read< 09:04 Online meeting on Wednesday evening from 5 to 8 p.m. Links to the meeting and more information regarding the projects can be found at Humboldt Wind Energy Area | Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (boem.gov)

Retraction of flawed MPA study implicates larger problems in MPA science

A retraction is a Big Deal in science, especially from a prominent journal. What’s strange in this story is how the conflict of interest intersects with the science. The conflict of interest was apparent immediately upon publication, but it wasn’t until major problems in the underlying science were revealed that an investigation was launched, and the paper eventually retracted. But with increased press comes increased scrutiny. The critiques pointed out errors and impossible assumptions that strongly suggested the paper was inadequately peer reviewed. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) later determined that the person responsible for assigning Cabral et al.’s peer reviewers, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, had a conflict of interest. >click to read< 10:36

Biden-Harris Administration Approves First Major Offshore Wind Project in U.S. Waters

Today’s Record of Decision (ROD) grants Vineyard Wind final federal approval to install 84 or fewer turbines off Massachusetts as part of an 800-megawatt offshore wind energy facility. The project is expected to create 3,600 area jobs and will power up to 400,000 homes. Turbines will be installed in an east-west orientation, and all the turbines will have a minimum spacing of 1 nautical mile between them in the north-south and east-west directions, consistent with the U.S. Coast Guard recommendations in the Final Massachusetts and Rhode Island Port Access Route Study. >click to read< 15:05

We’re on the Highway to Hell!