Latest news with #SouthForkWind
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
Axios
17-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
Trump wind move seen as "major escalation of regulatory assault"
Trump administration officials just took their most aggressive step to thwart offshore wind by stopping ongoing construction of Empire Wind, a big project off New York's coast. Why it matters: It's their first move against an offshore development that was already getting built. Halting Equinor's multibillion-dollar project sent shock waves on Wednesday through the young U.S. industry. It's a "major escalation of regulatory assault on offshore wind," TD Cowen Washington Research Group said in a note that sees jeopardy for other projects that have begun construction. Catch up quick: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on X that his agency will demand a halt pending "further review of information that suggests the Biden administration rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis." Interior didn't respond to a request for more info, and Burgum linked to coverage in the conservative Washington Free Beacon. That story shows a memo alleging "serious deficiencies." How it works: The 810 megawatt Empire Wind 1 was slated to send enough power into New York to supply 500,000 homes, per Equinor. It was slated to start producing power in 2026. The company began laying rock in the marine region earlier this month. The project also supports onshore work at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, where per Equinor, more than 1,500 people have worked. The site is slated to serve as a staging area for offshore turbines, the project's operations and maintenance base, and onshore substation. The big picture: Future projects were stifled at Trump 2.0's outset. And even before that, financial hurdles were hitting the sector, putting the Biden-era goal of 30 gigawatts installed by 2030 out of reach. A January executive order barred new lease sales and new permitting, while requiring review of existing leases. Burgum's memo notes both pending and existing permits are under review. EPA last month yanked an air permit for a separate proposed but frozen project called Atlantic Shores off New Jersey. State of play: There's one large-scale commercial offshore wind project in operation — Ørsted's 132 megawatt South Fork Wind commissioned in 2024 that helps power Long Island. Five larger Atlantic Coast projects are in some phase of construction, including Dominion Energy's 2.6 gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts, and Ørsted's Revolution Wind in New England. Equinor said it will "engage directly" with Interior to "understand the questions raised about the permits we have received from authorities." NY Gov. Kathy Hochul, in a statement, said she will "not allow this federal overreach to stand." "Doubling back to reconsider permits after projects are under construction sends a chilling signal to all energy investment," the American Clean Power Association said in a statement. The other side: The anti-offshore wind group Protect our Coasts New Jersey cheered the move, alleging the project threatened marine navigation and commercial fishing. The bottom line: The "messaging is clear" even though details are scarce, and "negative impacts for early stage construction projects are real," TD Cowen analysts write.
