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Final environmental impact statement paves way for US Wind development

Final environmental impact statement paves way for US Wind development

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Ocean City, fishermen feel ignored as offshore wind moves forward

Maryland’s coastal communities have tried to raise their concerns about offshore wind to developers and the government, but say they’ve been ignored.

Lauren Roberts, Salisbury Daily Times

US Wind has secured its final Environmental Impact Statement on its Federal Permit Application for further offshore wind development off the coast of Ocean City and elsewhere.

The approval comes on the heels of the company seeking a green light for its proposed Maryland and Delaware offshore wind project, which includes three planned phases. Two of those phases, MarWin and Momentum Wind, have received offshore renewable energy certificates from the State of Maryland.

“We are well on our way to putting Maryland’s offshore wind goals that much closer to reality,” said Jeff Grybowski, US Wind CEO. “We applaud Board of Ocean Energy Management for the comprehensive and thorough review of our federal permit application. We are now one step closer to securing all of our federal permits by the end of this year and look forward to the day we can get steel in the water.”

US Wind’s Construction and Operations Plan considered the full build-out of the federal lease area, which could generate up to 2 gigawatts of offshore wind power.

According to a statement by US Wind, the board’s final environmental impact statement “is a major milestone in the two-year National Environmental Policy Act process, indicating the company’s plans are nearly through the federal review process.”

What comes next for US Wind’s plans off Ocean City?

What will follow will be the board issuing a Record of Decision on the company’s construction plans, which is expected in September 2024. Other cooperating federal agencies and state agencies are expected to render favorable decisions by the end of 2024.

The board held three public scoping meetings in June 2022 to solicit public input on the environmental review process and hosted two in-person and two virtual public meetings in October 2023 to gather feedback on a draft of the environmental statement. That included input from Tribal Nations, local community members and more.

“Our environmental review carefully considered the best available science and information provided by Tribes, other government agencies, local communities, industry, ocean users, and environmental organizations. This vital collaboration with all our government partners and stakeholders will continue through the subsequent phases,” said Elizabeth Klein, the board’s director.

If approved, the project proposes to install up to 114 turbines, up to four offshore substation platforms, one meteorological tower, and up to four corridors for offshore export cables, which would make landfall in Delaware Seashore State Park. The lease area is approximately 8.7 nautical miles offshore Maryland and approximately 9 nautical miles offshore in Sussex County at its closest points to shore.

Environmental groups like Oceantic Network lauded the decision citing it would greatly advance a future of green energy in the country.

“Maryland has long seen offshore wind power as a key part of its energy and economic future, investing in a local offshore wind supply chain and the development of robust clean energy targets that have been driving the industry forward since its early stages. Today, the state has a commercial scale project nearing full construction approval and is poised to become a regional hub for offshore wind manufacturing and steel fabrication,” said Liz Burdock, president and CEO at Oceantic Network

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Offshore wind suffers unexpected setback off Massachusetts

While US Wind currently celebrates the board’s decision, Massachusetts still finds itself dealing with fallout of a football-field sized portions of a turbine falling onto the ocean off its coast.

On July 13, a fiberglass blade of a turbine fell into the ocean approximately 15 miles off the coast of Nantucket Island causing large chunks of the broken material to wash ashore nearby beaches. Vineyard Wind, which is owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of the Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, announced it was already starting cleanup efforts.

The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement notified Vineyard Wind of its temporary shut-down order and investigation into the incident.

New research from Rand Institute looks at impact on whales

In Late July, David T. Stevenson of the Center for Energy and Enviornmental Policy noted there is finally ample evidence of offshore wind being linked to unpresented instances of whale mortality in recent years.

“We have patiently waited for indisputable evidence that offshore wind is killing whales despite federal agencies repeatedly stating that no such evidence exists. It does now. Recent real-time acoustic tests of project construction noise and seismic testing reveal noise levels far exceeding those that result in whale mortality,” Stevenson said.

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According to acoustic studies cited by the center, scientific evidence connects seismic testing used in seabed exploration with the increased whale deaths, which federal agencies describe as “unusual mortality events.” That includes the noise from the operating turbines that exceeds safe levels, posing an ongoing threat to the whales.

The center used Rand Acoustic Study Findings and Gerasoulis’s Statistical Analysis as its basis for its claims.

In 2023, Robert Rand, an acoustic consultant, conducted a study of the sonar noise generated by an offshore wind survey vessel off the coast of New Jersey. The sound at the source was 224 decibels. As sound waves travel away from the source, their strength decreases. But half a nautical mile away, peak sound levels were at 151.6 decibels. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data stated marine mammals can temporarily lose hearing at 152 decibels of continuous sound and permanently lose hearing at 173 decibels.

Among the most susceptible species to this effect is the endangered Right whale.

“Sufficient scientific evidence proves offshore wind survey work and construction are killing whales. The first projects with massive new turbines never used before are moving into operation. Acoustic data is being accumulated and likely will show that safe operational noise levels are being exceeded daily,” the center concluded.

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Publish date : 2024-08-05 22:12:00

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