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

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

the lawsuit is being welcomed by some state lawmakers who argue the rapid review process curbs the ability of the state Department of Environmental Conservation to fully review energy projects and threatens farmland and the natural habitat of endangered species of wildlife. “It is the ultimate irony that in their rush to ‘save the environment,’ ORES and the Cuomo administration are violating a state law that is the cornerstone of New York’s environmental protection efforts," said state Sen. George Borrello, R-Chautauqua County. "That contradiction speaks volumes about the true motives behind this so-called ‘green energy’ agenda."

Legal Energy Policy New York

BETHLEHEM - The Port of Albany's proposed $350 million wind tower assembly facility in Glenmont – one of the most significant renewable energy economic development projects in Capital Region history  – will get an in-depth environmental review from the town of Bethlehem, as expected for a project of such a size and scope.

General New York

Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions — including one ruling establishing Amish religious freedom — could figure in arguments before the Appellate Division’s Fourth Department of State Supreme Court next month involving the proposed Alle-Catt Wind Farm.

General New York

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plans for siting renewable energy facilities, such as solar farms and windmills, are meeting righteous resistance from upstate locals. The intrusive facilities are key to the gov’s $26 billion “clean energy, clean economy” initiative, which Cuomo pretends will boost New York’s post-COVID-19 economy.

Energy Policy New York

Geoffrey Milks won the Republican primary for supervisor over Dustin Bliss in the town of Freedom 96-95. Both men are currently Freedom councilmen, but are on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to the Alle-Catt Wind Farm. Milks, who is opposed to the Alle-Catt project, trailed Bliss by two votes after Primary Day tallying, 95-93. With three absentee votes for Milks and none for Bliss, Milks eked out a one-vote win.

Zoning/Planning New York

Led in part by Columbia County town officials, a group of municipalities and local environmental organizations are suing the Cuomo administration over what they say is the loss of their constitutional home rule rights by giving a special state panel - not localities - the power to approve large solar and wind farms.

Legal New York

In a lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court in Albany on Tuesday, the American Bird Conservancy and 12 other entities filed suit against New York state and its Office of Renewable Energy Siting, among others, charging they failed to comply with the state Environmental Quality Review Act in devising new siting regulations for green-energy projects through the state's Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act. The groups, in a statement, accused the agency and the state of taking "critical shortcuts" in the environmental and public review process for recently approved and sited projects.

Legal Zoning/Planning New York

Today, local governments, community organizations and conservation and public interest groups across New York State are set to file a lawsuit against the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) asserting a violation of New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). The lawsuit seeks to overturn regulations setting standard uniform conditions applicable to all renewable energy projects in the state. The coalition of plaintiffs alleges ORES failed to acknowledge that its regulations for siting power plants could result in even one significant adverse environmental impact, and as a result failed to prepare and environmental impact statement.  

Legal New York

Many picketers are concerned about drilling related to the installation process, which last week caused a heavy flow of mud in the area. Specifically, many residents, like John Conway, are upset about the frac-out, as it is called, which is now impacting a nearby wetland area. 

Impact on Landscape Erosion New York

A “frac-out” from a drilling line late last week has resulted in a prolonged cleanup in Cherry Creek.

Impact on Landscape Erosion New York

But the Fishermen's Advisory Board in Rhode Island is opposing the package, according to a report in the Providence Journal. A lawyer for the group, Marisa Desautel, said the group has "serious concerns with the lack of information provided by Orsted" about the mitigation fund, including Orsted's involvement in how it will be paid out. The compensation package, to be paid over 30 years (or reduced to $5.2 million if taken as an upfront payment), was below a scientific study that estimated potential losses to fishermen of $15 million to $40.4 million, according to the paper.

Offshore Wind New York Rhode Island

Do “greens” think we can’t see that huge quantities of raw materials and fossil fuels are used to mine, manufacture, transport and construct these intermittent, unreliable, grid crashing environmentally destructive scams? Hydro, and nuclear power have a small footprint and a small impact on the environment compared to the waste of “renewables.” 

Impact on Landscape Impact on People Energy Policy New York

Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, said she felt blindsided by the announcement and that there has been minimal communication between Equinor and fishermen. “Why didn’t this process start more organically from the beginning, in a way that actively includes fisherman, so that no one is ultimately put out of business or put into a scenario where they lose traditional historical fishing grounds that are sustainably fished and have been,” she said.

Offshore Wind Transmission New York

In official comments to the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) submitted July 30, 2018, New York suggested the wind turbines be no closer than 20 miles from shore. This recommendation was based upon an earlier study by BOEM that concluded that 600-foot-high turbines produced a “dominate impact “on the beach view 15 miles offshore. Adjusting for the new 50% taller turbines, the suggested distance from the shore should be 30 miles. In Europe, the closest lease area for these jumbo turbines is 44 miles out. The New York decision begs the question of why lease areas from Maryland to Massachusetts aren’t being rejected on the same merits. 

Impact on Landscape Impact on Views Offshore Wind New Jersey New York

LIPA argues that ratepayers statewide will benefit from the grid upgrades on Long Island and in New York City, so the costs should be shared equally across the state. But the state Public Service Commission says the lion's share of the cost should be borne by ratepayers in the "energy-congested" regions such as Long Island and New York City that are receiving the upgrade and who it says will benefit more from higher-capacity power lines and other enhancements.

General New York