Announcements
- Fisheries and Offshore Wind Interactions: Synthesis of Science
There is a need to synthesize current and past scientific research that has examined the interactions between OSW, fisheries, and the marine ecosystems due to the rapid pace and broad scope of offshore wind development. NOAA Fisheries and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) have partnered with the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) to identify the topics critical for consideration in relation to offshore wind. The Synthesis of Science report discussing these topics can be found here.
- Potential Repercussions of Offshore Wind Energy Development in the Northeast United States for the Atlantic Surfclam Survey and Population Assessment
The Atlantic surfclam is among the most exposed to offshore wind development impacts due to the overlap of fishing grounds with wind energy lease areas, the hydraulic dredges used by the fishing vessels, and the location of vessel home ports relative to fishing grounds. The development of offshore wind turbines could limit or prevent vessel access, safety requirements, and assessment survey protocols during the Atlantic surfclam federal assessment survey. The impact of excluding the federal assessment survey from wind energy lease areas on the Atlantic surfclam population biomass assessment was investigated in the recently published paper found here.
- BOEM Announces Initial Members of the Committee for Offshore Wind Energy and Fisheries
BOEM has identified members of a new standing committee on offshore wind energy and fisheries, a committee intended to improve its engagement and communication with the fishing community on offshore wind energy activities.
- Nine Atlantic Coast States Release Request for Information to Inform Establishment of a Regional Fisheries Compensatory Mitigation Fund Administrator
In support of sustaining a vibrant fishing community that can coexist and thrive alongside offshore wind energy development, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia have released a Request for Information (RFI) aimed at receiving input from impacted members of the fishing industry, offshore wind developers, corporate and financial management entities, as well as interested members of the public, to inform efforts to establish a regional fisheries compensatory mitigation fund administrator. This regional fund administrator would provide financial compensation for economic loss from offshore wind development off the Atlantic Coast.
- Environmental and Fisheries Research to Support Offshore Wind Development
NYSERDA is seeking independent research through the Program Opportunity Notice (PON). This research will help NYSERDA achieve responsible and cost-effective offshore wind development as it advances New York State’s nation-leading goal – mandated by The Climate Act – to generate 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. A better understanding of potential interactions with the environment and fisheries will support responsible development, increase awareness of stakeholder concerns, and help NYSERDA identify and reduce risks before accelerating offshore wind project development.
- BOEM and NOAA Announce Joint Strategy on Fisheries Surveys
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries are announcing a joint strategy to address the potential impacts of offshore wind energy development on NOAA Fisheries’ scientific surveys. The Federal Survey Mitigation Strategy underscores the agencies’ shared commitment to the Biden-Harris Administration’s clean energy goals of responsibly advancing offshore wind energy production while protecting biodiversity and promoting ocean co-use. More information on this joint strategy and its goals can be found here.
- Sampling high biomass but rare benthic animals: Methods for surveying commercial clam stocks using a hydraulic dredge
Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs are large-bodied clams that inhabit the continental shelf of the MidAtlantic. Their abundance is not dominant in the benthic community, and they have a patchy distribution. Sampling and survey strategies need to be carefully tailored to clams to prevent undersampling or possible bias in surveys. More information on this topic can be found here.
- BOEM Releases Central Atlantic Draft Wind Energy Areas
BOEM released eight draft Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in the Central Atlantic that will cover 1.7 million acres offshore North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. A map of the region can be found here. A 30-day comment period was initiated on February 16, 2022 and will end on December 16, 2022. More information on this draft can be found here.
- RWSC Final 2022 Subcommittee Meetings
The Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind (RWSC) will host the final subcommittee meetings for 2022 over the next few weeks. Information on RWSC can be found here. The meetings will be focusing on reviewing draft Science Plan content. All meetings are open to the public and recorded:
- Sea Turtle Subcommittee, November 15, 10-12pm ET
- Bird and Bat Subcommittee, November 29, 10-12pm ET
- Marine Mammal Subcommittee, November 30, 9:30-11:30am ET
- Habitat and Ecosystem Subcommittee, December 1, 1-3pm ET
- Empire Wind DEIS Released
BOEM announced the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Empire Wind. This Project is a 2,076 MW offshore wind project that could power over 700,000 homes in New York. A 60-day comment period began on November 13, 2022 and will include three public meetings: Wednesday December 7 at 5 pm, Tuesday December 13 at 5 pm, and Thursday December 15 at 1 pm. This comment period ends on January 17, 2023. More information on the DEIS can be found here.
- Ecological Concrete Scour Protection For Offshore Wind Deployed – A HOLCIM US & Econcrete Joint Project
In coordination with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Holcim US and ECOcrete have successfully deployed the Droplock Ecological Scour Protection 12 miles off the shore of Long Island, NY. This project provides ecological scour protection to offshore wind projects using a novel concrete unit that requires 30% less material, minimizes native habitat degradation, and supports ecological uplift in offshore wind projects. More information on the project can be found here.
- Protecting North Atlantic Right Whales During Offshore Wind Energy Development
- New York Bight Offshore Wind Farms: Collaborative Development of Strategies and Tools to Address Commercial Fishing Access
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, and Global Marine Group, LLC prepared a report discussing the development of technical strategies and tools to minimize the disruption to commercial fishing, while also ensuring economical energy generation and safe operations for the developers and for mariners training in and around the offshore wind arrays. The full report can be found here.
- New England and Mid-Atlantic Councils and Partners Launch Habitat Data Explorer; One-Stop Tool Ready for Use
The Northeast Regional Habitat Assessment Data Explorer was launched by New England and Mid-Atlantic Councils and Partners that allows users to explore information on fish distribution and survey abundance, species life history, essential fish habitat (EFH), fish vulnerability to climate change, and more. More information on the Data Explorer can be found here.
- Third Offshore Wind Solicitation
The release of New York’s third competitive offshore wind solicitation was announced on July 27, 2022 by Governor Hochul. This would allow for renewable, clean energy to power at least 1.5 million New York homes. This third offshore wind solicitation further ensures New York will achieve its State’s Climate Act mandate to secure 70 percent of the State’s electricity from renewable energy by 2030 and at least 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. More information on the solicitation can be found here.
- Proposed Designation of Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary
The Wildlife Conservation Society submitted a nomination for the designation of the Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of New York and New Jersey. The public is invited to participate in the initial process of this designation through the community-based Sanctuary Nomination Process. More information on the benefits of this sanctuary can be found here.
- Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Announces Environmental Review of Six Wind Lease Areas Offshore New York and New Jersey
BOEM has announced that it will conduct a regional environmental review of six lease areas in the New York Bight – this will be the first regional analysis for offshore wind that will contain multiple lease areas. BOEM will publish an NOI to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on July 15th, which will initiate a 30-day comment period.
- Save The Date: Meetings on Draft Guidance on Mitigation Impacts from Offshore Wind Projects on Fisheries
In June, BOEM will be holding four meetings in consultation with NMFS and affected coastal states to discuss draft guidance for ways to mitigate impacts from offshore wind projects on commercial and recreational fisheries and fishing.
Meeting information and registration can be found here.
- Sea Grant, DOE, NOAA Fisheries fund six projects for the coexistence of offshore energy with Northeast fishing and coastal communities
The Northeast Sea Grant Consortium—in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office and Water Power Technologies Office, and NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center—today announced six projects to advance social science and technology research on offshore renewable energy in the Northeast United States. More information on the selected projects can be found here.
- Upcoming Webinar on NOAA and BOEM Survey Mitigation Implementation Strategy
On March 29, 2022 and March 30, 2022 NOAA Fisheries and BOEM will co-host two informational webinars to discuss the Draft Federal Mitigation Implementation Strategy.
For more information on the webinar, event info and registration, click here.
- Efforts to Mitigate Impacts of Offshore Wind Energy Development on NOAA Fisheries’ Surveys Are Underway
- New York Bight lease sale concludes with $4.37 Billion in Winning Bids
BOEM announces provisional winners of the New York Bight lease sale finalized on February 25th 2022. This is the largest single-event auction held thus far, and is the first auction under the Biden-Harris administration and collectively New York and New Jersey setting offshore energy records with $4.37 billion in winning bids. More than 480,000 acres over six lease areas, this is the nation’s largest regional offshore wind target, installing over 16 GW of offshore wind by 2035.
Leases offered in this sale could result in 5.6 to 7 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, enough to power nearly 2 million homes. For more information, see the announcement or visit the New York Bight Page on the BOEM website.
- Sunrise Wind Environmental and Fisheries Mitigation Plans
This meeting summary describes key discussion points and action items from the Fisheries Technical Working Group (F-TWG) virtual meeting, which was held on Thursday, November 4th, 2021 through a virtual meeting platform.
- South Fork Wind Farm begins Construction
The South Fork Wind Farm broke ground and became the second commercial-scale wind farm in the United States to begin construction. The Project is estimated to bring 130 MW of energy to the State of New York at the end of 2023. For more information, see here.
- Massachusetts’ First Offshore Wind Facility to be built in Somerset
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that the first offshore wind manufacturing facility in the state will be built in Somerset at the Brayton Point facility. The Prysmian Group has finalized an agreement to acquire a 47 acre parcel of land at the facility and will manufacture the subsea cables for Avangrid Renewables’ Commonwealth Wind project.
- Governor Kathy Hochul: State of the State Address 2022
On January 4th, Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her State of the State Address where she announced that New York will make a nation-leading $500 million investment in offshore wind ports, manufacturing, and supply chain to be integrated within NYSERDA’s 2022 solicitation.
Shortly after, the Governor announced the finalization of contracts between NYSERDA and Empire Wind Offshore LLC and Beacon Wind LLC, each a 50-50 partnership between Equinor and bp, for the Empire Wind 2 and Beacon Wind offshore wind projects, representing a key milestone in the advancement of offshore wind development in New York State.
For more information on the State of the State Address and the Governor’s recent announcements regarding offshore wind development in New York, see her webpage.
- BOEM Announces Final Sale Notice for the New York Bight
BOEM has announced that it will hold a wind auction on February 23rd for six lease areas in the New York Bight, totaling more than 480,000 acres, the largest single-event auction thus far. This will be the first auction under the Biden-Harris administration and collectively New York and New Jersey have set the nation’s largest regional offshore wind target of installing over 16 GW of offshore wind by 2035.
Leases offered in this sale could result in 5.6 to 7 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, enough to power nearly 2 million homes. For more information, see the announcement or visit the New York Bight Page on the BOEM website.
- Northern NYB Port Access Route Study
The United States Coast Guard has published the Northern New York Bight Port Access Route Study (NNYBPARS). The study was conducted to evaluate the adequacy of existing vessel routing measures and determine whether additional vessel routing measures are necessary for port approaches to New York and New Jersey and international and domestic transit areas in the First Coast Guard District’s area of responsibility. To accomplish this goal, the First Coast Guard District has undertaken measures to determine whether existing or additional routing measures are necessary to improve navigation safety due to factors such as planned or potential offshore development, current port capabilities and planned improvements, increased vessel traffic, existing and potential anchorage areas, changing vessel traffic patterns, effects of weather, or navigational difficulty. The effort of conducting the NNYBPARS began in June of 2020 and was published January of 2022.
To view the report, see the Federal Register.
- BOEM completes Environmental Review of Offshore Wind Energy Leasing Activities in the New York
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed its environmental review of potential impacts from offshore wind energy leasing activities in the New York Bight. The final Environmental Assessment (EA) assessed potential impacts from the issuance of leases within nearly 800,000 acres of wind energy areas in the New York Bight. Based on the analysis in the EA, BOEM has issued a finding of no significant impact. For more information, see the BOEM website.
- Massachusetts to Purchase Power from Vineyard Wind and Mayflower Wind
The Massachusetts Governor’s Office has announced that it will buy 1,200 megawatts of offshore wind power from Vineyard Wind and 400 megawatts of offshore wind power from Mayflower Wind. The Vineyard Wind Project will generate 800 MW of energy, consist of 60 turbines, and will be located 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Mayflower Wind will generate roughly 800 MW.
For more information, see here.
June 24, 2022
On June 24, 2022, BOEM published a Notice of Availability (NOA) for the Ocean Wind 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Ocean Wind, LLC’s Proposed Wind Energy Facility Offshore New Jersey. The NOA initiates a 45-day public comment period that ends August 8th, 2022 at 11:59 pm.
For more information regarding the virtual public hearing and the dates it will be held, refer here.
Reducing or Avoiding Impacts of Offshore Wind Energy on Fisheries
June 24, 2022
In July, BOEM will hold four public meetings in consultation with NFMS and affected coastal states to discuss draft guidance for ways to mitigate impacts from offshore wind projects on commercial and recreational fisheries and fishing.
Dates and meeting information can be found here.
June 23, 2022
BOEM has standardized its process for identifying alternatives in its draft Evironemtnal Impact Statements (EISs) for all Offshore Wind Construction and Operations Plans (COPs) received from lessees.
More information on BOEM’s standardization process for the finalized document can be found here. The finalized document can be found on BOEM’s website here.