Latest news with #SouthCoastWind
Business Wire
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Wire
Green Oceans and Allies Urge Interior Secretary Burgum to Halt All Offshore Wind Construction in New England Because of Flawed Permitting
LITTLE COMPTON, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Green Oceans, joined by a coalition of environmental, fishing, tribal, and community organizations, called upon U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to halt all offshore wind construction in the New England coastal waters. Citing a recent Government Accountability Office report that confirms repeated oversight failures by BOEM, the coalition urged Secretary Burgum to declare a comprehensive moratorium and begin a thorough reevaluation of the projects, including proper tribal consultation and cumulative impact analysis. The organizations–– Green Oceans, ACK for Whales, Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, Protect Our Westport Waters, Save Greater Dowses Beach, Save Right Whales Coalition, and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head/Aquinnah––collectively petitioned Secretary Burgum to rescind the approvals for the projects and begin a 'complete reevaluation' of their permits under applicable federal laws. They cited material deficiencies in environmental impact analyses and legal violations. The coalition cited serious fears about real and imminent threats to marine ecosystems, endangered North Atlantic right whales, Tribal Cultural Resources, national security, and the regional economy posed by Revolution Wind, Vineyard Wind, South Fork Wind, Sunrise Wind, SouthCoast Wind, and New England Wind. The projects' collective lease area occupies 1400 square miles of environmentally sensitive marine habitat; and if built out, would stretch from Long Island to Cape Cod. The letter, which identifies many and repeated material deficiencies in the government's approval process, the heavy burden to taxpayers, and the lack of material benefit emphasized the urgent need to act: Time is critical. Pile driving is resuming in waters currently occupied by nearly half of the remaining North Atlantic right whale population in the world. Without your immediate intervention, these projects will drive this highly endangered species closer to extinction, irreversibly damaging Tribal Cultural Resources, marine habitats, and biodiversity. As a nation, we have both a legal right and an ethical responsibility to protect these precious yet fragile resources. The letter also said the projects threaten: Critical habitat destruction impacting cod spawning grounds. Inadequate response to turbine blade failures and environmental cleanup. Severe adverse impacts on regional fisheries and economic displacement. Compromised national defense radar and marine safety capabilities. Misleading economic analyses that omit substantial regional job losses and increased electricity prices. "The future of our oceans and the countless species and communities depending on them rests on swift, decisive action," said Lisa Quattrocki Knight, President and co-founder of Green Oceans. "We respectfully call on Secretary Burgum to establish a lasting legacy of responsible ocean stewardship and lawful governance," she added. 'These projects could cost the US taxpayer over $60 billion in the next several years. They will raise the price of electricity. Higher electricity prices will displace manufacturing jobs. Fishing jobs have already been harmed. Most egregiously, these projects will not influence climate change,' said Dr. Knight. 'Every day that another pile is driven into the ecologically fragile seabed, more ocean is despoiled, more marine life is threatened, and the right whale moves closer to extinction. This is an urgent problem that needs an immediate remedy.' 'Once these turbines are built, we will have a recurring environmental catastrophe off our shores that will be difficult, if not impossible, to undo and afford. These predominantly foreign energy conglomerates that have been dependent upon federal dollars to construct them have also been unjustly relieved of the requirement to set aside funding for decommissioning. Instead, the taxpayers will be stuck with the bill. Better to stop the construction now before it's too late,' ACK for Whales President Val Oliver said. 'We are optimistic,' said Susanne Conley, Save Dowses Beach Executive Director. 'Secretary Burgum has expressed his skepticism of the offshore wind industry, writing on social media last month, 'The offshore wind industry has relied on tax subsidies for 30 years – not anymore.'' A copy of the letter can be found at
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Can a local fishing panel make a difference in offshore wind projects? We're about to find out.
A fisherman fishes off rocks at Sachuest Point in Middletown. An advisory panel of fishermen is set to review SouthCoast Wind's proposal to snake a pair of underwater transmission lines up the Sakonnet River, east of Sachuest Point, then run them underground across the northern tip of Portsmouth and out Mount Hope Bay to make landfall at Brayton Point in Somerset Mass. (Getty image) When the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) put out a public call for volunteers to revive a state fishing advisory panel, a former panel member warned Jim Riggs against joining. Riggs, a 75-year-old recreational fisherman and retired electrician who lives in Westerly, applied anyway. 'I feel that in order to have your voice heard when it comes to fisheries management, you're either on the table or on the plate,' Riggs said in an interview. 'I prefer to be at the table.' His seat at the table is now secured; he is one of nine new members the CRMC named to its Fishermen's Advisory Board (FAB) after a single, unanimous vote on April 8. The advisory panel has been inactive since all of its former members resigned together in August 2023 to protest what they viewed as the CRMC's kowtowing to offshore wind project developers at the expense of local fishermen. Will the same frustrations bubble up? The first test comes this week, as the new panel begins negotiations with SouthCoast Wind, which has applied for a permit to run transmission lines from its wind turbines up the Sakonnet River and out Mount Hope Bay. Rich Hittinger, a former FAB member who led the mass resignation effort two years ago, isn't optimistic. 'We were asked to review a lot of applications and give input that took a lot of time and effort, but then the council really did not care what our input was,' said Hittinger, who is first vice chair of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association. He had discouraged Riggs from joining the panel. 'I think nothing has changed structurally at the CRMC, so I told him that most likely, you will spend a lot of time on these projects and your input will not be considered,' Hittinger said. Marisa Desautel, the attorney hired to represent the fishing advisory panel in prior negotiations with offshore wind developers, felt the same way. 'The process is the same as it was then — there's no policy in place other than the language written in the [CRMC rulebook],' Desautel said. But Desautel said she would be interested in serving as the attorney for the FAB again if she were asked. The CRMC through its Ocean Special Area Management Plan (SAMP), created in 2011, requires input from fishing representatives on any large-scale offshore development. The advisory panel is meant to minimize negative impacts to fishing habitats by offering input on project locations, construction schedules, and other details. And, it can request an attempt to negotiate compensation from developers to offset projected losses to commercial and recreational fishermen from their projects. But federal regulations limit what the state coastal agency, and its advisory bodies, can do about offshore wind. The CRMC can affirm whether or not a federal offshore wind project complies with state regulations, but the real control lies with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which dictates where projects are built, environmental and economic impacts, and construction and operating plans. Jeffrey Willis, executive director for the CRMC, acknowledged in an interview that state coastal regulators often had little authority over matters the FAB brought to the council in the past. Prior interactions between citizen volunteers and deep-pocketed international companies behind wind projects felt off-balance to Jim Boyd, who served 22 years at CRMC before retiring as its deputy director in 2022. 'It felt like there was a stacked deck, if you will,' Boyd said. Rhode Island coastal regulators can't change federal lease and mitigation policies. But they can reduce friction by having FAB members attend fewer meetings for negotiations on offshore wind projects, Willis said. 'With the old FAB, those guys were super-involved,' Willis said. 'They would come every Thursday night for a couple of hours and put their hearts and souls into it, and in the end, they felt they weren't getting their point across,' Willis said. 'We didn't want to repeat that burnout.' Willis acknowledged that this won't fix the difficult-to-calculate financial piece of wind negotiations, which rely on federal fishery landings data that typically does not capture the lived experience of local recreational and commercial fishermen. 'Compensation is one of the hardest discussions to have,' he said. The new board members are preparing to wade into that difficult discussion on the SouthCoast Wind project, a 147-turbine wind farm planned off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. The CRMC in December 2023 approved the broad strokes of a plan to run the wind farm's power lines through Rhode Island waters to reach land at Brayton Point in Somerset, Massachusetts. Cables would extend up the Sakonnet River and out Mount Hope Bay — much closer to local fishing grounds than the turbines off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. The former fishing advisory board members had already resigned by the time of its decision, so there was no attempt to determine compensation to offset fishing losses. The CRMC is now reviewing a separate permit application related to the SouthCoast underwater cable lines. An initial meeting between the project developers, the CRMC and the new FAB members is planned for this week, though no date had been confirmed yet, Willis said. 'When the Ocean SAMP was adopted 15 years ago, the whole emphasis was on the offshore impacts,' Boyd said. 'There was no consideration of inshore fisheries because there was so much unknown. But now, we know that the SouthCoast export cables are going to be coming into our waters. We need to have representation for that.' In a statement, SouthCoast Wind welcomed the restoration of the FAB. 'SouthCoast looks forward to meeting with the new FAB members in the coming weeks and continuing to move forward with the Rhode Island CRMC permitting process,' Rebecca Ullman, a company spokesperson, said in an email Friday. Willis originally reached out to two different area fishing groups to see if they were interested in joining FAB. Both declined. A series of emails to industry listservs earlier this year yielded more success — 12 applicants, including one proposed alternate. 'I was pleasantly surprised,' Willis said. 'I was worried about the possibility that, given the history of what happened with the old FAB, we would have a hard time.' Unlike fellow recreational fisherman, Riggs sees the benefits to offshore wind development. He claims the underwater foundations and cables for other projects near Block Island have increased his catch. 'It creates a structure for fish to congregate to and feed at,' Riggs said. I feel that in order to have your voice heard when it comes to fisheries management, you're either on the table or on the plate. I prefer to be at the table. – Jim Riggs, 75, a Westerly recreational fisherman and new member of the Rhode Island Fishermen's Advisory Board A self-proclaimed conservationist, Riggs hoped his experience on the water, as well as his avid consumption of news about the wind industry, would help protect Rhode Island's prized ocean ecosystem. Other volunteers who applied to join the advisory panel also expressed their interest in protecting the state coastal environment, according to letters and emails submitted to the CRMC. The agency's regulations allow for up to 20 members on the fishing advisory panel, including up to two representatives each for six categories of fishing; up to two representatives of seafood processing facilities; and up to six Massachusetts fishermen who fish in waters subject to Rhode Island coastal regulations. All 12 applicants, including the one alternate, were approved as new members, except for one initial candidate who withdrew his name prior to the confirmation, Laura Dwyer, a CRMC spokesperson said. One of the 11 people confirmed Tuesday, Isaiah Alvarez, subsequently decided not to continue as a board member, he said in a text message Thursday night. Alvarez did not respond to questions about his decision. Half of the applicants identified as recreational or commercial fishermen, including several with former military experience in the U.S. Navy or U.S. Coast Guard. Another, Patrick Dowling, managing partner at D'Amico Burchfield LLP in Providence, has a bachelor's degree in environmental science from the University of Rhode Island and concentrated in environmental law at the Vermont Law School, he said in an email to the council. Jennifer Scappatura-Harrington, owner of Quonnie Siren Oyster Company in Charlestown, hopes to offer a voice for the state's aquaculture industry and women in fishing, she wrote in an email to the council. Dowling and Scappatura-Harrington did not return calls for comment. One of the 10 board members who was confirmed on April 8 dropped out, leaving nine. Wayne Banks, a recreational fisherman, retired electronics engineer for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, and former member of the Jamestown Harbor Commission Richard Corrente, a recreational fisherman and owner of Portside Tavern in Bristol Patrick Dowling, a recreational fisherman and managing partner at D'Amico Burchfield LLP in Providence who has a bachelor's degree in environmental science from the University of Rhode Island Jeff Grant, a commercial fisherman and representative of the Rhode Island Shellfisherman's Association; Mike McGiveney, association president, will serve as an alternate if needed Steve Langley, a recreational lobster fisherman who served five years in the U.S. Coast Guard James Riggs, a retired electrician and recreational fisherman Jennifer Scappatura-Harrington, an oyster farmer who owns Quonnie Siren Oyster Co. in Charlestown local oyster farm owner Adam Silkes, co-owner of North Kingstown-based shellfishing company, American Mussel Harvesters John Walker, a native Newport resident and commercial fisherman who formerly served on the Newport Waterfront Commission SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Boston Globe
01-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Massachusetts offshore wind contracts get delayed again, until June
This three-state bidding process has already been delayed multiple times. Eventually, in September, Massachusetts and Rhode Island officials approved new bids for contracts with SouthCoast Wind, while Massachusetts officials also approved a bid for contracts to finance New England Wind 1. A third wind farm, Vineyard Wind 2, was shelved after Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont opted not to team up with Massachusetts to contract with the project because of cost concerns. Advertisement The industry faced delays in getting started under the first Trump administration, but picked up momentum during Joe Biden's presidency, until rampant inflation and high borrowing costs prompted several offshore wind contracts to be scuttled, and rebid. So far, only one project has begun to serve Massachusetts ratepayers: Vineyard Wind, a joint venture owned by Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. Construction has been slow lately on that project because one blade broke apart last July, raining debris into the ocean, and prompting the developers and manufacturer GE Vernova to Advertisement Jon Chesto can be reached at
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Government makes game-changing decision with potential to impact millions of homes: 'We are wasting no time'
The U.K. government has announced plans to remove barriers to green energy projects, hoping to bring offshore wind farms to the country faster, as reported by Reuters. On February 21, the U.K. government and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced plans to reform eligibility criteria to planning wind energy programs and increase their Contracts for Difference beyond the 15-year term. These deals are government-provided guarantees for developers to get high upfront costs and protect consumers from increased electricity costs. With the new plans, the U.K. hopes to increase capacity on onshore wind projects as well. "Our bold new reforms will give developers the certainty they need to build clean energy in the UK, supporting our mission to become a clean energy superpower and bring down bills for good," said U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. Should the government be paying us to upgrade our homes? Definitely Depends on how much it costs Depends on what it's for No way Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. In 2024, the U.K. government reversed restrictions on wind energy put in place by the previous Conservative government. According to The Guardian, this helped the country work on onshore and offshore wind farms for the first time in a decade. "We are wasting no time in investing in the clean homegrown energy that our country needs to lower bills and make Britain energy-independent," said Miliband. "We welcome investors responding to this announcement by moving forward with plans to invest in Britain's clean energy future." The government reported that it secured nine contracts for offshore wind projects, including proposed plans for Europe's largest and second-largest wind farms. Wind is an affordable source of energy that helps eliminate harmful effects of dirty fuels. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the country's wind energy helps eliminate the polluting effects of the equivalent of 73 million cars. Wind energy also has low operating costs, keeps energy prices down, and provides income to communities. A new study from Norway also found one site had zero bird collisions in two years, proving it is possible to avoid the common misconception that turbines are dangerous to birds. Wind farms are increasing across the world, from Japan to the United States. The proposed SouthCoast Wind project in Massachusetts, for example, aims to power 840,000 homes. In the U.K., wind farms can bring renewable energy to millions of residents. On the Shetland Islands alone, a wind farm could bring renewable energy to 500,000 homes. "As we accelerate our plan for clean power by 2030, the government will work with the industry on how we can build on this success to ensure we can go even further and faster to deliver the power we need," said Miliband. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Four-year delay for SouthCoast Wind offshore wind farm floated. What we know.
The developer behind SouthCoast Wind is planning for the possibility of up to a four-year delay for the offshore wind farm that would supply power to Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Ocean Winds, a joint venture between Portugal's EDP Renewables and France's ENGIE, confirmed to The Providence Journal Thursday, Feb. 28, that it was writing down the value of the project by €267 million, or about $278 million, to account for the lost revenues that would result from delaying power production by four years. The company said that it's accounting for the possible delay, which would push the project's operation date back from 2030 to 2034, because of uncertainties caused by the executive order signed last month by President Trump that aims to curtail offshore wind development in America by stopping new leases to ocean waters and reviewing permits for projects already underway. The company described the write-down as 'a precautionary measure based on scenarios of potential delays in its projects.' 'Ocean Winds strongly believes in the potential of offshore wind to generate significant economic activity and provide abundant, domestic energy to meet rapidly growing demand in the U.S. and remains confident in finding a path forward in coordination with all relevant authorities in the upcoming months,' the company said in a statement. Ocean Winds is currently negotiating contracts with utilities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island for the sale of power from SouthCoast Wind. Under a multi-state solicitation for offshore wind proposals, Massachusetts agreed to buy 1,078 megawatts of capacity from the project while Rhode Island committed to the purchase of 200 megawatts. The contracts were set to be agreed to by Jan. 15, but the deadline was postponed to March 31. While President Trump has vowed to stop offshore wind development, support for the industry among policymakers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts remains strong and work has continued on projects off southern New England. They include Revolution Wind, the 65-turbine array, that would deliver 400 megawatts of capacity to Rhode Island and another 304 to Connecticut. Many of the project's turbines have already been installed. SouthCoast Wind, while not yet under construction, has secured a lease to 199 square miles of federal waters 20 miles south of Nantucket and in the final weeks of the Biden administration won a key federal approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The project could cost as much as $5 billion and generate up to 2,400 megawatts of capacity, enough to power more than 1 million homes. Construction would start next year if there are no delays. But the full ramifications are still unclear of Trump's crackdown on clean energy, which has also included a separate executive order that cuts off funding for solar power, electric vehicle charging and other projects aimed at reducing planet-warming greenhouse gases. In a call with investors on Wednesday, Miguel Stilwell d'Andrade, chief executive officer of EDP Renewables, referred to the uncertainty, describing what has been 'a turbulent few months.' When asked about SouthCoast Wind, he said the €133 million, or $138 million, impairment specific to his company, which was first reported by E&E News, is 'relatively prudent, because it's assuming there is a four-year delay' to the start of construction. He described that as 'the worst-case scenario.' He continued, 'Obviously, given everything that's come out in the last couple of weeks with the executive orders, and asking to review the federal permits, we've decided to just be more prudent around the timing.' He said the power purchase agreements for the project are ready to sign and described the pricing as 'attractive' relative to other recent contracts that had prices of about 15 cents per kilowatt hour. Offshore wind in Cape Cod waters: Vineyard Offshore cuts 50 jobs amid 'market uncertainty.' What it means for Vineyard Wind. One specific way that the company is trying to protect itself is by negotiating provisions in the contracts that factor in possible changes to an important tax credit that was funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, according to Stilwell d'Andrade and other EDP executives. As it stands, developers can qualify for a 30% investment tax credit if they begin construction before Jan. 1, 2026. Stilwell d'Andrade expressed confidence in the long-term outlook for the American market, saying that electric demand is only expected to grow and that renewables are attractive because they offer pricing stability and can be developed more quickly than new gas-burning power plants or nuclear facilities. The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, through a spokesman, said it's aware of the write-down but couldn't comment at this time on how a delay to SouthCoast Wind could affect state efforts to comply with mandates in the Act on Climate to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Amanda Barker, clean energy program coordinator with Green Energy Consumers Alliance, said the SouthCoast Wind proposal and other offshore wind projects are essential for energy independence and combatting climate change as well as for supporting grid reliability and the state economy. 'We need to find a way to get these crucial projects over the finish line,' she said. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: SouthCoast Wind faces possible 4-year delay under Trump presidency
