[ad_1]
A group of fishing associations is sounding the alarm about new plans from the Biden administration to industrialize the Gulf of Maine by leasing 2 million acres of space for wind farm development, a transfer that fishermen say might be detrimental to their enterprise and marine life.
Last week, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), an company inside the Department of Interior, introduced the finalization of what is named a wind power space (WEA), which is an space of the ocean that might allot for development of sufficient wind generators to produce 32 gigawatts (GW) of power.
The company boasted that, in help of the Biden administration’s targets for deploying 30 GW of offshore wind power capability by 2030 and 15 GW of floating offshore wind power capability by 2035, the Gulf of Maine WEA surpasses the present state targets for offshore wind power within the Gulf of Maine, which is 10 GW for Massachusetts and three GW for Maine.
But a coalition of 17 fishing associations say the transfer is “the end result of a rushed growth course of that’s poorly knowledgeable on financial, scientific, environmental and cultural points of paramount significance.”
HOW MAINE LOBSTERMEN TURNED ‘SLAP IN THE FACE’ FROM WHITE HOUSE INTO POLICY VICTORY
Max Oliver strikes a lobster to the banding desk aboard his boat whereas fishing off Spruce Head, Maine, on Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
The teams, which embrace the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) and Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) mentioned “serious questions” stay about how offshore wind exercise is related to spikes in whale mortality all through the Atlantic Ocean.
One massive portion of the WEA is frequented by the endangered North Atlantic proper whale, the teams mentioned. Leasing the realm to wind farming “is flatly inconsistent with a policy of endangered species protection.”
Historically, the federal authorities has in some methods hamstrung the fishing business by making an attempt to sharply restrict fishing capabilities for concern of endangered marine species, regardless of no information to help the notion that the business is a hazard to these species.
“Fishermen are disheartened that the WEA designation favors foreign energy developers over marine mammal protection. This preferential treatment is in stark contrast to the federal government’s aggressive campaign to burden commercial fishing needlessly with crushing restrictions to protect whales,” the teams mentioned.
They additionally mentioned the WEA would completely displace fleets within the prime groundfishing territory.
MAINE LOBSTERMEN CATCH BIG COURT VICTORY AGAINST BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S ‘EGREGIOUS’ REGULATIONS
Wind generators are proven within the Atlantic. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer/File)
“The Gulf of Maine WEA was finalized at a breakneck pace without adequate consideration of interactions with fisheries and long-term environmental impacts,” they mentioned, including that many questions stay unanswered.
“Research such as that envisioned through the Gulf of Maine research array to study wind-marine environment interactions and identify strategies to avoid and reduce impacts from commercial scale offshore wind development has not been conducted,” they mentioned.
“Nor has sufficient time been set aside to follow best practices in ocean modeling, which should include significantly greater transparency and meaningful partnerships with fishermen as longstanding ocean stewards who hold generations of important ecological knowledge.”
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Dustin Delano, chief working officer at NEFSA, mentioned that since an offshore wind farm of this dimension is unprecedented, the federal government ought to a minimum of wait till present small-scale take a look at tasks yield extra information – a timeline of just some months.
“It’s possible that the commercial leasing process could follow that research project by just a few months’ time,” Delano mentioned. “There could be commercial-scale development going on just south of there without even waiting to see what the environmental impacts are.”
“That’s just so incredibly irresponsible,” he mentioned.
“We have one Gulf of Maine, we have one chance at this, one shot at this. As soon as you go in there and destroy things. It’s destroyed for good,” he added.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION BLASTED FOR ‘HYPOCRISY’ ON OFFSHORE WIND AS IT SCRAMBLES TO PROBE WHALE DEATHS
Fishermen are proven off South Portland, Maine, on Sept. 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Annie Hawkins of RODA informed Fox News Digital that at up to 32 gigawatts, the power that BOEM predicts the WEA can generate “far and away exceeds both demand from adjoining states and requests from wind industry groups.”
Typically, the federal government will finalize a WEA for a delegated challenge that an power firm will bid to construct. But on this case, Hawkins speculates that the unprecedented dimension of the WEA signifies that the federal government may have a freewheeling skill to green-light wind tasks with little scrutiny.
“The finality of WEA designation appears to give BOEM maximum freedom of movement to approve future leases from within this huge area with a minimum of further review,” she mentioned.
“The highest level of scrutiny is particularly needed, given the expected use of new floating turbine technology, which is still under design and carries entirely unknown environmental impact,” she mentioned, including that the company has the chance to “clarify these points” after the upcoming discover and remark interval.
In a press release to Fox News Digital, BOEM mentioned that the ultimate WEA establishes the boundaries to inform BOEM’s preliminary environmental evaluation below NEPA on potential web site characterization and evaluation actions.
“BOEM does not intend to lease the entire Final WEA, rather, BOEM will now consider proposed lease area(s) from within the Final WEA that would later be issued for public comment in a Proposed Sale Notice,” the company mentioned. “The size of the Final WEA will allow BOEM to consider areas for additional deconfliction, while also supporting the region’s renewable energy goals and the potential for multiple lease sales, as BOEM continues to evaluate a phased leasing approach.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
BOEM famous that the WEA was finalized “after extensive engagement with lobster fishermen in fishing communities” and avoids sure restricted areas that the National Marine Fisheries Service recognized.
The bureau additionally mentioned that from preliminary conversations with tribal nations situated inside Maine, the advisable remaining WEA additionally probably avoids a majority of historic and current fishing grounds of these tribes.
“BOEM will continue to consult with all Tribal Nations and ocean users with an interest in the region to understand their concerns with potential offshore wind development, including viewshed and transmission impacts, and strive to minimize potential conflicts,” the company mentioned.
[ad_2]
Source hyperlink