Commercial fishing advocates stressed that BOEM needs to make a priority of avoiding and mitigating negative impacts their industry and the nation’s seafood supply. The waters between. New York and New Jersey are some of the most productive on the East Coast and account for much of the sea scallop harvest, valued at $746 million in 2019, according to the Fisheries Survival Fund. ...“It is unquestionable that the proliferation of new turbine arrays will have detrimental impacts on the scallop fishery and other fisheries,” according to a statement from the Fisheries Survival Fund. “Windfarms will and demonstrably do change ocean ecosystems. The goal of mitigation should be to strike a balance that ensures mutual prosperity, not merely an uneasy, zero-sum co-existence.”

Offshore Wind USA New Jersey New York

Opponents of the offshore South Fork Wind farm that recently received federal approval are asking a judge to block the land-based portion of construction from starting on the project under arguments that can be heard in a pending related lawsuit.​

Legal Offshore Wind New York

The group Citizens for the Preservation for Wainscott filed the motion in the State Appellate Division on Dec. 20 seeking to block construction of the on-land portion of the South Fork Wind Farm which would run underground cables through their neighborhood. The group said in its motion a high-voltage cable under Wainscott Beach and the hamlet’s roads could disrupt the "bucolic environment" of the neighborhood and cause "irreparable environmental damage."

Offshore Wind Transmission USA New York

LIPA in 2017 decided to move ahead with the South Fork Wind Farm project despite internal findings that its ability to produce energy during critical summer-peak times would be limited to around half the days it was needed, according to a confidential review done for LIPA. A copy of that review released earlier this year as part of a lawsuit filed by a ratepayer says even with the wind-farm operating, there'd still be power shortfalls on 77 of the 152 peak-summer days given the weaker summer winds and the South Fork's soaring appetite for energy.

USA New York

The decision to switch to monopiles "comes as a shock, given the lack of consulation," the NRDC wrote in a letter to Equinor. "The potential sudden reversal will undermine the initial trust and goodwill that Equinor has developed thus far … " Added Carl LoBue, NY oceans program manager for the Nature Conservancy, called it, "disappointing on multiple levels to lose that quiet foundation as an option. Going forward, we’ll be working to make sure the [pile driving] provisions are protective of marine life in New York, where we have whales basically year-round."

Impact on Wildlife USA New York

Representatives of Ørsted and Eversource, the companies that will be constructing the South Fork Wind farm off Montauk, told local residents this week that the final designs for the installation call for the electrical cable to be buried far deeper below the Wainscott beach where it will emerge from the ocean than originally planned, and will require fewer of the large underground “vaults” than early designs showed.

Offshore Wind Transmission New York

The company that once was awarded — then lost — a contract to build what was to be Long Island’s first wind farm off Jones Beach announced Friday that it’s taking another crack at the market.

Transmission New York

Bereaved residents are calling for Sanford Town Supervisor Dewey Decker’s resignation as he almost single handedly paved the way for the contested project that will destroy their homes and quality of life, making ‘back door deals’ with the developer before the public was given notice or an opportunity for meaningful participation early enough in the process. He stoically faced the angry residents at the town hall meetings and ignored the local pleas for his help as the scale and impact of the project went public. 

Legal New York

The builder of New Jersey’s first planned offshore wind farm rejected renewed attacks by some Shore residents who fear that the sight of turbines on the horizon will keep tourists away, damage the coastal economy and erode property values.

Offshore Wind USA New York

The Planning Board is asking developers of a proposed wind turbine project on Reynolds Road to increase the planned setback distances from neighboring properties, but developers say that could result in a greater disturbance to wetlands and the removal of trees. Borrego Solar is seeking approval to construct a single 4.3-megawatt wind turbine on approximately five acres of leased land out of a roughly 191.6-acre parcel located at 411 Reynolds Road.

Zoning/Planning New York

In paperwork filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Norway-based Equinor cited the "inherent complexities of constructing and commissioning New York’s first large-scale offshore wind generating facility." It also cited delays in the "expected timelines for receiving action on key permits and governmental approvals."

Offshore Wind USA New York

By 2035, the chief automakers will have turned away from the internal combustion engine. It’ll be up to the grid to fuel all those new cars, trucks and buses.

Energy Policy Transmission USA New York

On September 22, 2021, Justice Peter Lynch of the New York State Supreme Court, Albany County denied the petitioners’ application in Town of Copake v. New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting, No. 905502-21 (Sup. Ct. Albany Cty. Sept. 24, 2021), rejecting a challenge to regulations promulgated by the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES). Justice Lynch’s decision comes following an earlier ruling that denied the petitioners’ application for a temporary restraining order. These rulings have now twice affirmed the validity of the ORES regulations, which will play an important role in helping New York State to achieve its aggressive renewable energy goals.

Impact on People Legal New York

The Adirondack Park isn’t widely known for farming, but almost 104,000 of its 6 million acres are in agricultural districts. Much of that is in the Champlain Valley, where sunny fields spread out between dark mountains to the west and sparkling Lake Champlain waters to the east. In that expanse, solar panels are fast becoming the trendy new cash crop. Because of their potential to change the region’s views, its wildlife habitat and its way of life, some are calling for comprehensive planning on where they're being planted.

General New York

Warner said he notified the Coast Guard of the devices and said he was told they were unaware of them. A Coast Guard spokesman didn’t immediately respond. DEC spokeswoman Maureen Wren said the agency requires no permits to place the devices in the water. DEC did approve a permit for Stony Brook and Cornell to "collect and possess" fish to be surgically tagged as part of the study, but the DEC was "not involved in the scheduling of the deployment of the arrays," spokeswoman Lori Severino said.

Offshore Wind New York

Equinor had been considerably more certain about its foundation plans at conferences and presentations since winning the award in a ceremony with former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in 2019. At an offshore wind-power conference at the SUNY Maritime College later that year, gravity-base foundations were the only option discussed. The presentation included artists’ renderings of ships towing the foundations down the Hudson. In its recent construction plan filed with the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Equinor has excluded gravity-base concrete foundations for use with an offshore substation that sits among the turbines, noting the "operational challenges" associated with boat landing and "accommodation of the crew transfer vessel."

General USA New York

The Trustees say that they have demanded that Ørsted delay the cable installation, slated to begin in early 2023, in order to complete a second spring season worth of fish migration surveys. The company has said it will wait to “energize” the cable until after the spring 2023 fishery surveys are conducted, but cannot put off the start of cable installation between the wind farm site south of Block Island and Wainscott. “They were told directly at the time that this would be a deal breaker,” Trustees Clerk Francis Bock said on Monday morning. 

General Offshore Wind Transmission New York

The agency said negative impacts to commercial and recreational fishing would be “major” and found there would be “minor to moderate” beneficial impacts in terms of jobs and investment in the local economy. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on the project, released on BOEM’s website Monday, Aug. 16, examines the potential environmental impacts of the proposal to build up to 15 wind turbines and an offshore substation in federal waters about 35 miles off the coast of Montauk. BOEM says in the FEIS that it prefers an alternative proposal to protect habitat by carefully siting just 11 turbines there.

Impact on Wildlife Offshore Wind New York Rhode Island

Development of the South Fork Wind Farm off the coast of Rhode Island would have an overall "major" adverse impact on commercial fishing, according to a newly released federal study. Impacts to commercial fishing include navigational hazards from potential collisions, loss of fishing grounds and impacts from construction and operation, according to a final environmental impact statement released Monday by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Offshore Wind New York Rhode Island

The Westerlo Town Board has unanimously approved a 90-day extension to the town’s solar and wind energy moratorium, which was first instituted in 2019 to allow the town to develop a new comprehensive plan. The extension is necessary to allow the town additional time to continue reviewing the comprehensive plan draft and three laws relating to renewable energy that are consistent findings of that draft, Deputy Supervisor Matt Kryzak said at the town board’s special meeting and public hearing on Aug. 11. 

Zoning/Planning New York