Monthly Archives: May 2017

A FLOATING offshore wind farm that would cost 108 million to install is currently the frontrunner in work to develop renewable energy in Guernsey.

A preliminary feasibility study was released this week and now more equipment will be installed at Mont Cuet, in the north of Guernsey, to help move the project forward.

The study by Xodus Group concluded that a 30MW offshore wind project could be viable. It shortlisted three preferred sites for five turbines.

One option is 5km off Guernseys north coast and another is 15km away, west of Schole Bank, between Guernsey and Alderney.

The third the only floating option - is 25km north-west of the island.

The offshore floating option is the most costly, but is seen as preferable because of the visual impact of the other two which have estimated capital costs of 68.23m and 80.98m respectively.

It is the latest plan for a wind farm in Channel Islands waters, following on from a French scheme to install turbines between Jerseys south coast and the northern coast of Brittany.

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Guernsey considers floating offshore wind farm - Jersey Evening Post

The Trump administration announced earlier this month that it is moving forward on seismic surveys in the Atlantic Ocean, the first step toward offshore drilling in a region where it has been blocked for decades. The Interior Department plans to review six applications by energy companies that were rejected in January by the Obama administration.

Local and state environmental groups as well as many coastal municipalities oppose the surveys, saying loud sounds from seismic air guns could hurt marine life. Sen. David Perdue, R-Georgia, and Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Savannah, remain in favor of seismic testing and offshore drilling.

The oil and gas industry has pushed for the surveys, which map potential drilling sites for oil and natural gas. No surveys have been conducted in the mid- and south-Atlantic regions for at least 30 years. The regions, as defined by the Interior Department, stretch from northern Florida to Delaware. Any new drilling activity is expected to be limited to the coasts of Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month aimed at expanding drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, part of his promise to use the nations energy reserves in an effort to reduce imports of foreign oil. Trumps order reversed an action by former President Barack Obama and faces fierce opposition from environmental activists and many Democrats, who say both seismic testing and offshore drilling harm whales, sea turtles and other marine life and that the resulting oil usage exacerbates global warming.

This is part of the administrations plan to push things foward and put the Southeast at risk again, said Sierra Weaver, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Used to locate and quantify potential oil and gas deposits, seismic testing involves firing blasts of air from large air guns toward the ocean floor for days or weeks at a time. Seismic blasts have been known to travel more than a thousand miles through the ocean, disorienting, hurting, deafening, or even killing nearby marine life.

Proponents of seismic testing focus on the conclusions of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries analysis that seismic testing in the Atlantic is unlikely to harm animals at the population level.

There has been no documented scientific evidence of noise from these surveys adversely affecting marine animal populations or coastal communities, said National Ocean Industries Association President Randall Luthi.

Opponents focus on the harm that same analysis predicted would come to individual animals.

The governments own study, their own prediction of marine mamals likely to be harmed by seismic testing through 2020, is over 100,000. Thats the governments own admission that theyre likely to injure 100,000 animals. I believe the harassment numbers are well over a million, said Weaver, who also pointed out the difficulty of documenting population level harm in ocean dwelling marine mammals.

More than 75 leading marine mammal scientists signed a 2015 letter imploring the Obama Administration, ultimately successfully, to reject seismic testing. A follow-up letter came last year from 28 researchers who focus on the highly endangered right whale, which migrates to the waters off Georgia and Florida each winter to give birth.

The additional stress of widespread seismic air gun surveys may well represent a tipping point for the survival of this endangered whale, contributing significantly to a decline toward extinction, they wrote.

Coastal Georgia municipalities including Savannah, Tybee Island and Brunswick have passed formal resolutions opposing offshore drilling and/or seismic testing. They are among more than 120 East Coast communities from New Jersey through Florida to do so.

With a vibrant commercial fishery industry and the only known calving ground for endangered North Atlantic right whales just off our coast, Georgians oppose seismic testing for offshore oil exploration and the risks it poses to our states wildlife, wild places, and quality of life, said Alice Keyes, vice president for coastal conservation at Coastal Georgia-based One Hundred Miles. The decision to deny seismic permits was based on sound science, policy, and public input. One Hundred Miles represents thousands of coastal advocates who stand together to support that decision.

Georgias lawmakers in Washington continue to support exploration and drilling.

As I have always said, I believe in an all of the above energy strategy and this is another step in the right direction to put people back to work, reduce energy costs and make America energy independent, said Carter, who represents every coastal county in the state and responded to an inquiry via email. Seismic surveys have been safely used for decades around the world and are nearly daily occurrences in the Gulf of Mexico. It is done with great consideration of the marine environment with multiple safeguards in place to ensure that no harm comes to marine animals or important industries like commercial fishing.

Perdue, who lives on Sea Island, in 2015 suggested states and local communities should be involved in that process to determine the best way to unleash our full energy potential, create jobs, and make our nation more secure.

His office released this statement Monday regarding seismic and offshore drilling: President Trump has a refreshing focus on generating jobs and unlocking our full energy potential. By approving the Keystone Pipeline and now lifting President Obamas offshore leasing ban, President Trump is moving to develop a strategic approach to Americas God given energy resources.

Seismic testing on the East Coast will require permits under the Marine Mammal Protection Act for impacts to species including dolphins and right whales before it can move forward, Weaver said. Thats an opportunity for coastal residents to weigh in.

The important thing for people to know is its time to keep speaking up for the coast, she said. And often.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Offshore exploration and drilling back on table for Georgia - Savannah Morning News

The operators have started removing buoys and moorings from the St Pauls Bay site.

AJD Tuna has begun dismantling fish farms in St Pauls Bay and Comino ahead of the May 31 deadline set by the Planning Authority for their relocation.

According to AJD, the tuna pens at Comino have already been removed, with the mooring blocks scheduled to follow in mid-June once necessary divers and work boats return from the tuna fishing season.

Meanwhile, the three cages in St Pauls Bay, containing carry-over fish, are being moved to a site six kilometres offshore, where they will be kept on tow while awaiting a temporary relocation permit from the PA.

John Refalo, secretary of the Federation of Maltese Aquaculture Producers, confirmed that the operators had begun removing buoys and moorings from the St Pauls Bay site.

READ:Two fish farms appeal PA decision to revoke cage permits

AJD and three other companies were given until the end of May to relocate to a new approved aquaculture zone further offshore. Their existing permits were revoked by the PA last September due to illegalities and harmful environmental practices, including oily slime that plagued beaches last summer.

Should the location be as planned this is definitely a step in the right direction

Two of the other operators have since obtained concessions to operate in the only existing approved zone, located off the south coast, bringing the site up to its full permitted capacity.

Efforts by the authorities to identify a similar zone in the north have been ongoing since 2011.

Dr Refalo said the authorities were satisfied with the pace of developments.

He added that all operators remained committed to complying with the agreement and were hopeful that a permanent solution would be found soon.

AJD has meanwhile applied to move four tuna pens from Cominoto a new site off St Pauls Bay but the application is unlikely to be decided by the PA until later this year. The proposed site is about six kilometres from Qawra Point, having been pushed a further 1.5 kilometres north after objections by Transport Malta and others.

The current proposal met no objections, although the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has insisted on an archaeological impact assessment to identify any possible archaeological sites or World War II remains and to assess any risks.

Nicolai Abela, from the campaign group Stop the Slime, said he too considered the proposal acceptable.

Should the location be as planned this is definitely a step in the right direction and satisfies two of our recommendations proposed to reduce the negative environmental and social impacts of tuna farming, he said.

Recommendations included a minimum distance of six kilometres from the nearest land point and the carrying out of all necessary surveys before the laying down of ground anchors and positioning of nets.

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Fish farms being moved offshore - Times of Malta

Bradenton Herald

Sea Saw wins Crosthwait offshore title with 81-pound grouper and last-minute adjustments Bradenton Herald As the crew of the Sea Saw huddled on the Bradenton Yacht Club stage around their trophy for winning the offshore division of the 34th Crosthwait Memorial Fishing Tournament, a baby, less than four weeks old, was lifted high above the crowd as cameras ...

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Sea Saw wins Crosthwait offshore title with 81-pound grouper and last-minute adjustments - Bradenton Herald