Category Archives: Offshore

The Interior Department formally reversed a Trump-era legal opinion on offshore wind energy, in another step toward the Biden administrations goal of dramatically expanding the industry in U.S. waters.

An April 9 memo by Robert Anderson, the departments principle deputy solicitor, critiques and reverses findings written in December by Daniel Jorjani, who was the departments top lawyer when then-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt moved to shut down the approval process for the Vineyard Wind offshore project.

Andersons advice now is that Interior Secretary Deb Haaland must strike a rational balance of wind energy and fishing.

In that earlier 16-page document, Jorjani held that if Bernhardt determines that either fishing or vessel transit constitute reasonable usesof the exclusive economic zone, the high seas and the territorial sea, the Secretary has a duty to prevent interference with that use.

Moreover, Jorjani wrote, the Interior secretary should determine what is unreasonable interference from offshore wind turbines based on the perspective of the fishing user. That was a victory for commercial fishing advocates who had gone directly to Bernhardt with their concerns.

In the new memo five pages dense with analysis of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and related court decisions Anderson wrote that the OCSLA requires the Interior secretary to consider a dozen specific goals of the law when making decisions.

That goals provision of the law commands the Secretary to act in a manner that provides for many separate and potentially competing considerations, Anderson wrote. Enumerating some of those goals, Anderson says the Interior secretary must strike a balance.

Thus, the Secretarys obligations to provide for the protection of the environment, the prevention of waste, the protection of national security interests of the United States, and the fair return to the United States may weigh in favor of Secretarial actions to maximize low-emission and renewable electrical generation from offshore wind facilities, but, in some circumstances, the siting and operation of those facilities may not optimally provide for other reasonable uses of the exclusive economic zone.

The Trump administration memo focused on one OCSLA provision for prevention of interference with reasonable uses to avoid any conflict with fisheries, when a full reading of the law shows only that the Secretary rationally balance the subsections various goals, Anderson notes.

The Opinion, including its extra-statutory policy advice, is therefore in error, the memo concludes. Pursuant to delegated authority, I hereby withdraw the Opinion and advise the Secretary that, for purposes of subsection 8(p)(4) of OCSLA, her actions must strike a rational balance between the subsections enumerated goals.

The new memo comes as a final decision from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for permitting Vineyard Wind is expected. The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a coalition of fishing groups and communities, submitted a letter to BOEM pleading for mitigation measures to be included.

Offshore wind development poses direct conflicts with fishing and the current permitting process provides no meaningful opportunity to include the needs of sustainable seafood harvesting and production in strategies to mitigate climate change, the group said. Recent interagency announcements to fast-track offshore wind energy production have provided no commitments to address this transgression of the federal governments public trust duties.

RODA reacted glumly to news of the Interior Department memo on its Facebook posting Friday: Today the administration continued its frenzy to seep away common sense, equity and its public trust responsibilities by revoking a prior legal memo suggesting offshore wind projects should not unreasonably interfere with our centuries-old sustainable fisheries.

Meanwhile, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority otherwise an enthusiastic promoter of offshore wind development signaled it may not support BOEM proposals for additional development areas closer to Long Island. The agency has begun its public scoping process to assess the potential for wind leases on almost 800,000 additional acres in the New York Bight.

In an interview published April 9 by Newsday, Doreen Harris, the recently appointed CEO of NYSERDA, said the federal agencys proposed Fairway North and Fairway South wind energy areas named for nearby shipping lanes into New York Harbor would be sub-optimal.

The potential for wind turbines in those areas to be visible from the wealthy Hamptons beach resort region is one factor, she told the newspaper.

Link:

Interior Department reverses offshore wind legal opinion - WorkBoat

Owaki/Kulla | The Image Bank | Getty Images

Norway's sovereign wealth fund has agreed to pay around 1.375 billion euros ($1.63 billion) for a 50% stake in one of the world's biggest offshore wind farms, Orsted's 752 megawatt (MW) Borssele 1 & 2 facility.

Managed by Norges Bank Investment Management, the fund whose wealth stems from Norway's vast North Sea oil and gas reserves is the world's largest and worth more than $1.3 trillion. In an announcement Wednesday, NBIM described the deal as its "first investment in renewable energy infrastructure."

The transaction is set to complete in the second or third quarter of 2021. Under the terms of the deal, Orsted will retain its position as co-owner of the wind farm and handle operations and maintenance.

"We are excited to have made our first unlisted investment in renewable energy infrastructure, and we look forward to working alongside rsted on delivering green energy to Dutch households," Mie Holstad, who is chief real assets officer at Norges Bank Investment Management, said in a statement.

Located 23 kilometers off the Dutch coast, Borssele 1 & 2 uses 94 wind turbines from Siemens Gamesa. According to Orsted, it is the world's second-largest operational offshore wind farm and "supplies renewable energy equivalent to the annual power consumption of one million Dutch households."

Europe is a major player in offshore wind power and home to a number of large-scale facilities.

The world's first offshore wind farm, in waters near the Danish island of Lolland, was commissioned in 1991.

In 2020, the sector attracted over 26 billion euros of investment, a record amount, according to recent figures from industry body WindEurope.

The U.S. offshore wind sector, by contrast, is still small but could be set for a significant expansion in the coming years under new plans announced by the Biden administration at the end of March.

Norway's fund has what NBIM describes as "a small stake" in over 9,000 companies globally, with its investment strategy based on guidelines set out by the country's ministry of finance.

"The fund must not be invested in companies that produce certain types of weapons, base its operations on coal, or produce tobacco," NBIM says.

"The fund must also not be invested in companies that through their conduct contribute to violations of fundamental ethical norms," it adds.

As of March 3, 2021, companies excluded from what NBIM describes as "the fund's investment universe" include: German utility RWE; tobacco giant Philip Morris International; and BAE Systems.

Read more here:

Norway's huge oil-backed wealth fund invests in an offshore wind farm - CNBC

The US wants to use offshore wind farms to collect valuable data on climate change and ocean health. Renewable energy giant rsted recently signed a memorandum of agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), agreeing to help the agency gather data in US waters leased to the company. NOAA says the agreement paves the way for similar data-sharing agreements with other developers.

The Biden administration plans to dramatically expand the countrys offshore wind capacity. The US currently only has 42 megawatts of capacity from two relatively small projects on the East Coast. If the Biden administration makes good on its commitment to offshore wind development, thatll grow this decade to 30,000 megawatts coming from wind farms across both East and West coasts.

That growth should help the US slash its greenhouse gas emissions and avert a deeper climate crisis. The new agreement puts forward a smaller but still significant benefit for research; each new wind farm could also boost the agencys ability to track the effects of climate change that are already here.

Having more data sharing and more sampling from the wind developers is going to help us, wherever there are wind development projects, to understand that bigger picture, says Carl Gouldman, director of the NOAA Integrated Ocean Observing System program office. Conducting research at sea gets costly, so partnerships like the one with rsted can help fill in gaps in NOAAs ocean observations.

The memorandum outlines broad areas of research with which rsted will help NOAA. rsted agreed to share data on air and water quality, marine life, meteorology, as well as coastal and ocean currents and waves. It will also collect data to better map the sea and study its physical properties.

They havent hashed out many specifics yet, but one area Gouldman is excited about is weather data. Weather forecasting could get better, for example, thanks to LIDAR data rsted collects. LIDAR, or Light Detecting and Ranging, can map an environment by shooting out laser pulses. The technology helps self-driving cars see, but in this case LIDAR is used to take a profile of wind speed in the atmosphere.

Were thrilled to hear that theyre going to be willing to share that data, Gouldman says. A couple of years back we heard things like, well, the companies wont want to share that because its proprietary data that theyre going to want to hold for themselves.

rsted collects additional data using buoys and vessels that conduct surveys for future wind farm projects, a spokesperson for the company said in an email. It also has a glider that gathers oceanographic data used for storm forecasting.

The first wind farm in the US at Block Island, operated by rsted, is ideally located for studying the effects of climate change at sea and even onshore. Its just 13 miles off the coast of Rhode Island, which is heating up more rapidly than much of the rest of the United States. Scientists are still trying to understand why the Northeast is the fastest warming region in the continental US. One culprit could be warmer water in the Atlantic ocean, which can raise temperatures inland.

After announcing plans last month to expand offshore wind development and data collection, Secretary of Commerce and former Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo said in a statement, These actions illustrate the Departments commitment to innovative partnerships to advance the best science and data that will ensure the development of offshore wind is transparent and inclusive of all stakeholders.

Separately from its agreement with rsted, NOAA is also studying the potential impact that offshore wind development could have on marine life. Its using an autonomous underwater glider to study Atlantic cod and other species found off the Southern New England coast, for example. The agency provides data and analyses to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which issues leases to companies for offshore wind development.

NOAA also agreed to share some of its own data with rsted. It has 10 to 15 years of data on current velocities on the East Coast, which it says would help developers understand how ocean conditions might affect wind farm construction. Ironically, new wind farms might interfere with the high-frequency radar stations used to gather that data. So NOAA is looking into whether it can add sensors to wind turbine stations to bolster that effort, too.

See original here:

How an offshore wind boom in the US could boost ocean research - The Verge

(Reuters) - Offshore wind power is a key renewable energy source for achieving ambitious climate targets, with many countries planning to award contracts to develop wind farms at sea this year.

FILE PHOTO: An Envision wind turbine at the Mozura wind farm in Ulcinj, Montenegro, June 18, 2020. REUTERS/Stevo Vasiljevic/File Photo

Governments have different options for structuring tenders, with the most common models being the award of seabed leases, contracts for difference, or centralised auctions.

Below is a list of planned tenders and explanation of the most common tender types.

The Nordic country is holding a centralised tender to develop the Thor offshore wind farm with up to 1 GW of capacity, with the result expected in December. Six bidders have been pre-qualified.

It is also launching a second centralised tender for the Hesseloe wind farm site of up to 1.2 GW this year.

The country will hold a centralised tender this year for a wind farm with roughly 1 GW capacity off Normandy in northern France.

It has also scheduled a further centralised tender for 0.25 GW of floating wind off the Brittany coast, also in northern France.

Germany is awarding just under 1 GW of capacity to be operational from 2026 in a centralised auction model tender ending on Sept. 1, covering acreage in both the Baltic and North Sea.

The country is expected to hold an auction for an as yet undetermined amount of offshore wind capacity under its Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS), which offers successful participants a fixed price for their generation for around 15 years.

The country is set to award its first offshore wind licences totalling 1.5 GW this year. It is also expected to open a further round for another 1 GW.

The Hague is holding a centralised tender for the Hollandse Kust West area with 1.52 GW of capacity.

The country will award 5.9 GW of capacity with contracts for difference at a fixed strike price that is yet to be announced.

The UK awarded 8 GW of new seabed leases in English and Welsh waters in February. Later this year, it will also hold a CfD auction for up to 12 GW of capacity.

Scotland is holding a separate seabed leasing round for some 10 GW of capacity, which closes in July.

The state of New York awarded 2.5 GW of capacity in January, which was won by a joint venture of Equinor and BP.

Connecticut will hold an auction for 1 GW of capacity in the second half of the year, with results expected by year end or early 2022.

New Jersey is expected to award contracts for up to 2.4 GW of capacity in June.

Maryland is holding two auctions this year for a total of 0.8 GW.

Massachusetts will hold an auction for 1.6 GW of capacity in the second half of the year, with results expected by year end or early 2022.

Rhode Island is expected to award contracts for 0.6 GW by the end of June.

The Asian country is expected to commence an auctioning round open to pre-developed projects for a total of 1 GW capacity later this year, but awards may not be made until 2022.

In these auctions firms bid for the rights to develop a specific area offshore. Traditionally, governments award leases with a fixed option fee, payable annually until a project is approved and has taken a final investment decision, after which companies pay annual rent.

However, a British leasing round earlier this year applied a competitive process, achieving unexpectedly high prices for option fees.

Developers with seabed leases enter their projects into auctions for Contracts for Difference (CfD) once they have planning consent.

Participants bid projects with planning consent into the auction, based on a specific off-take price for their power. If wholesale prices are below the agreed price, they receive the difference, but in return need to relinquish the profits if selling their production above the agreed strike price in the wholesale market.

In this auction model, countries offer pre-determined sites to any bidder with no need to enter a specific, pre-developed project.

Reporting by Nora Buli, Nicola Groom, Yuka Obayashi, Susanna Twidale; Editing by Kirsten Donovan

Originally posted here:

Factbox: Global offshore wind tenders and auctions in 2021 - Reuters

SALISBURY Eastern Shore progressives and environmentalists will host a virtual town hall on Monday, April 12, on offshore wind energy.

The virtual event looks at offshore wind and starts at 6:30 p.m. The Lower Shore Progressive Caucus, Progressive Maryland, Chesapeake Climate Change Action and the Maryland Sierra Club are among the groups organizing the event.

There are proposals for wind energy projects along the Atlantic Seaboard including off the Delmarva Peninsula.

The Biden administration is also looking to expand wind energy in the Atlantic Ocean. Former President Donald Trump is a strong critic of windmills and wind energy.

The issue does create some splits even among environmentalists and progressive over support for renewable energy but concerns about wind energys impacts on marine life, birds and the health of the ocean and other bodies of water.

Follow this link:

Progressives to talk about offshore wind energy, windmills in Atlantic Ocean - The Star Democrat

Tokyo Gas Co. will install 19 offshore wind turbines near the eastern Japan coast from 2024 as the government moves toward its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, the gas and power utility company has said.

The wind turbines will be located in waters near the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture and generate a maximum of 159.6 megawatts, enough renewable energy to supply 70,000 households annually, the company said. The projects start date has yet to be decided.

The 680-hectare wind farm, to be built close to the coast up to 1.6 kilometers from Kashima Port, is also funded by Wind Power Group Co., based in Ibaraki Prefecture, and Vena Energy Holdings Ltd., a renewable energy company in Singapore.

We aim to lead the growth of renewable energy, which will contribute to the realization of a sustainable society, Tokyo Gas President Takashi Uchida said in a press release.

Uchida said his company is committed to a stable power supply by balancing output fluctuation in power generated by renewable energy with gas-fired power generation, its core business.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said going green will be a key driver of growth for Japan, the worlds third-largest economy and fifth-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, vowing to build offshore wind farms and invest in technologies to produce hydrogen fuel using renewable energy.

The government has set a goal of raising its offshore wind power generation to up to 45 gigawatts in 2040 from a mere 20,000 kilowatts at present.

In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

View post:

Tokyo Gas to install 19 offshore wind turbines in carbon-free push - The Japan Times

In todays Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

Last week, we wrote about how the Netherlands 24-year-old Irene Vorrink offshore wind farm is being decommissioned. But thats not on the cards for Egmond aan Zee (pictured, foreground), the Netherlands first large-scale offshore wind farm, because, at a middle-aged 15 years old, it still has more power to give. So Noordzeewind, its owner, is going to refurbish it.

The 108 MW Egmond aan Zee was initially erected as a demonstration project in 2006. Noordzeewind was originally a joint venture between Swedish power company Vattenfall and oil giant Shell, until Shell became the sole owner of NoordzeeWind just last month.

Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas first installed Egmond aan Zees 36 V90-3 MW turbines around 10-18km (6-11miles) off the North Sea coastand serviced them from 2006 to 2016, and again in 2020. NoordzeeWind is bringing Vestas back to provide maintenance, turbine troubleshooting, and replace components as needed for the rest of the wind farms life.

NoordzeeWind also just hired European multinational energy asset management company OutSmart to independently operate the wind farm. OutSmarts managing director Femmy Wervers said:

We will do the day-to-day operations of this project. It is our responsibility to ensure HSSE, legal and regulatory compliance, smooth operation of the wind farm, reacting timely on failures, and to ensure contract compliance and coordination with third parties.

Electreks Take: As we sit on the cusp of a global offshore wind farm boom, its informative to see how countries that are experienced in wind power manage different life stages of their offshore wind farms. Theyre expected to have a life span of around 25 years. Those planning new projects can learn by watching the management of older projects as they lay out road maps for future offshore wind farms.

BlackRock Real Assets, the worlds largest asset manager, has closed Global Renewable Power III (GRP III), a $4.8 billion renewable power investment fund. GRP III was nearly triple the size of Global Renewable Power Fund II (GRP II), which closed at $1.7 billion in July 2017.

GRP III is the third in BlackRocks Global Renewable Power fund series and the fifth fund overall that invests primarily in clean energy globally.

GRP III amassed commitments from more than 100 institutional investors, up from 67 for GRP II, according to a BlackRock news release.

PVBuzz reports:

The Fund has actively begun investing capital and to date has already completed three investments in Europe, Asia, and North America. These investments include onshore wind in Europe, solar in Asia, and distributed solar generation in the US, each project playing a vital role in the regions road to net zero.

And Pensions & Investments points out that GRP III will also invest in supporting infrastructure, including energy storage, distribution, and electrified transport.

Jim Barry, chief investment officer of BlackRock Alternative Investors and global head of BlackRock Real Assets, said:

GRP III invests in the sustainable infrastructure of the future. As the world strives toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the transition will have dramatic impacts not only for public equities but for private markets as well, creating significant opportunities for front-footed investors.

Photo: Tristan Surtel/Wikimedia Commons

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.

Follow this link:

EGEB: The Netherlands first large-scale offshore wind farm is getting a revamp - Electrek.co

A new memorandum of understanding creates a framework to negotiate participation of Maine labor in the construction of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine.

New England Aqua Ventus LLC, or NEAV, and the Maine Building and Construction Trades Council, on behalf of itself and its affiliated local unions, yesterday announced they reached agreement on the memorandum.

NEAV is developing an offshore wind demonstration project near Monhegan with floating platform technology developed by the University of Maine.

The memorandum creates a framework that will lead to future negotiations of a project labor agreement and includes initiatives to bring new workers into the skilled trades to work on offshore wind, according to a news release.

NEAV and the council agreed to work together to develop training and workforce development programs.

One initiative is to use pre-apprenticeship programs like Helmets to Hard Hats and Building Futures to recruit and train veterans and local disadvantaged young adults for employment on offshore wind projects.

The goal is to provide hundreds of union construction jobs. NEAV also said it was committed to building a supply chain in Maine for offshore wind and maximizing the involvement of Maine-based organizations in all aspects of the project.

COURTESY / UNIVERSITY OF MAINE

A new memorandum creates a framework to negotiate participation of Maine labor in the construction of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine.

NEAV is a partnership between UMaine, Diamond Offshore Wind and RWE Renewables.

Diamond is a subsidiary of the Mitsubishi Corp. and RWE said it'sthe world's second-largest company in offshore wind energy.

The two companies are part of a consortium led by the Governors Energy Office to develop an array of up to 12 wind-energy turbinesoff Maines southern coast.

The project labor agreement is part of our commitment to doing everything we can to use Maine workers and content in our development, construction and operation activities, Chris Wissemann, Diamonds CEO, said in the release.

The Monhegan demonstration project is expected to produce more than $125 million in total economic activity and create hundreds of Maine-based jobs during the construction period. If approved, construction would likely take place in 2022-23.

The signing of the memorandum is the first step toward building a new green energy economy thatprovides a ladder to good carbon-free careers in the trades right here in Maine, said John Napolitano, president of the Maine Building and Construction Trades Council. Project labor agreements have been used for generations between building trades unions and contractors toensure the job is done on time and within budget while drawing on a ready pool of skilled, professional union trades people.

The agreement is also expected to give veterans, youth and minoritiesopportunities to learn the trades and to provide an anchor for in-state work. Mainebuilding trades workers often have to travel outside the state for work, he added.

Dan Burgess, director of the Governors Energy Office, said Maines clean energy economy is creating good-paying jobs around the state.

With wind and solar among the fastest growing employment fields in the country, agreements like this underscore the economic potential for Maine workers in the clean energy economy, as well the workforce development opportunities that are needed to meet this demand, Burgess said.

The Monhegan project will consist of a single semisubmersible concrete floating platform, developed by UMaine, that will support a commercial 10- to 12-megawatt wind turbine and will be deployed in a state-designated area 2 miles south of Monhegan Island and 14 miles from the Maine coast.

The purpose of the project is to further evaluate the floating technology, monitor environmental factors and develop best practices for offshore wind to coexist with traditional marine activities in the Gulf of Maine. It is expected to supply clean, renewable electricity to the Maine grid.

But the project has stirred controversy. Last month, fishermen in nearly 100 boats from the midcoast gathered in waters near Monhegan to protest the pace of development of offshore wind energy infrastructure, and potential impact on commercial fisheries.

Originally posted here:

Trades Council says Maine's offshore wind industry could create hundreds of construction jobs - Mainebiz

The Interior Department on Friday bolstered offshore wind energy by revoking a legal opinion issued during the Trump administration that gave more weight to fishing concerns about that kind of energy development.

Robert Anderson, the Interior Departments principal deputy solicitor, issued an opinion that reversed the Trump-era solicitor Daniel Jorjanis December opinion that the department should err on the side of less interference rather than more interference in fishing when it comes to offshore wind activities

Anderson, in his new legal opinion, said instead that the Interior secretary should seek to strike a rational balance between various interests.

At issue is a section of the law that aims for "prevention of interference with reasonable uses" of the ocean.

Jorjani's interpretation followedanother memo that similarly interpreted the same section of the law.

Jorjani argued that this memo's interpretation of the law was too narrow and only preventing interference with the legal right to fish.

But Anderson argued that Jorjanis opinion failed to note that the law also says that the interference with reasonable uses is followed by the phrase (as determined by the Secretary), which he argued gives the secretary discretion to decide.

The difference in opinions comes as the Biden administration seeks to boost renewable energy as part of its transition to net-zero emissions. The Interior Department has recently moved closer to approving a major offshore wind project.

President BidenJoe BidenBiden eyes bigger US role in global vaccination efforts Trump says GOP will take White House in 2024 in prepared speech Kemp: Pulling All-Star game out of Atlanta will hurt business owners of color MORE recently said hell nominated Anderson to be Interiors top lawyer.

Here is the original post:

Interior bolsters offshore wind by revoking Trump-era legal opinion | TheHill - The Hill

Wednesdays announcement that Maine organized labor and the developer of a pilot offshore wind farm are partnering to train and hire construction workers took place against a backdrop of rising tensions between two marine-related job creators.

One, the fishing sector, is a longtime symbol of Maines independent work ethic and an economic mainstay in many coastal communities. The other, offshore wind, is part of a fast-evolving clean-energy industry thats taking shape along the Eastern Seaboard.

The interests of these two water-dependent activities are colliding. At issue is access to the ocean and to what degree floating turbine platforms, subsea anchoring systems and buried cables can coexist with boats that haul lobster traps and drag for groundfish and scallops.

The job projections for offshore wind are tantalizing. New England Aqua Ventus, the developer of a demonstration floating wind turbine planned for construction next year off Monhegan Island, said building a single floating platform will create hundreds of union-wage jobs. Full-scale commercial wind farms with multiple turbines could require thousands of skilled workers, the company says.

Fishing interests say such projections are overblown. A study done last year by Georgetown Economic Services for the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance said some of the skilled jobs would need to come from overseas, along with specialized, foreign-flagged vessels, for the industry to rapidly expand.

Whatever the projections, many Maine business interests see room for both industries. Some have formed a new advocacy group, the Gulf of Maine Sustainability Alliance. Its internet home page reads: Lets lead the way in floating offshore wind. A new Maine industry in harmony with all ocean users.

The groups advisory council includes Dana Connors, president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce; Jack Parker, president of Reed & Reed, which has helped build many land-based wind farms; Rep. Genevieve McDonald, D-Stonington, a fishing captain who also serves on the Maine Lobster Advisory Council, and Grant Provost, business agent for Ironworkers Local 7.

Gov. Janet Mills, whos counting on offshore wind to help Maine meet aggressive climate mitigation goals, is trying to navigate a course through choppy waters. Last fall, she announced plans build the nations first offshore wind farm dedicated to research, with up to a dozen floating turbines at least 20 miles from the coast. She asked the fishing industry to be part of the process, to help design floating arrays that minimize impact with traditional harvesting.

The proposal wasnt widely embraced. In January, in a bid to quell opposition from fishing interests, Mills proposed a 10-year moratorium on wind projects in state waters.

But many fishermen arent placated.Some marine businesses have recently begun circulating a sticker that depicts a map of Maine and a red lobster holding a wind turbine in its claw.

CRUSH Mills, the sticker reads.

In a blog post last month on the Maine Coast Fishermens Association website, Dustin Delano, a vice president of the Maine Lobstermens Association, began his column by expressing what he saw to be at stake.

In recent weeks, many fishermen along the Maine coast have discovered a new fear to add to their lengthy list of stressors that they will be replaced by 700-plus foot wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine, Delano wrote.

That sense that fishing jobs would be blown away by wind energy led to charges, countercharges and confrontations in late March between lobstermen and a survey vessel marking the route for the undersea cable that would connect the Monhegan test turbine to the mainland.

Tensions eased only after Maine Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher, acting on direction from Mills, asked captains who fish along the survey route to haul their gear or face having it moved out of the way by the Marine Patrol.

Invalid username/password.

Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

Previous

Next

See original here:

Deal on offshore wind jobs highlights tensions with Maine fishermen - Press Herald