2023 vs. 2025: Not so subtle changes
BTW, the new BSEE logo appears to have been influenced by the masterpiece Rig at Sunset 👍 😉
Archive for the ‘Offshore Wind’ Category
The winds of change! 😉
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, Uncategorized, tagged BOEM, BSEE, OCS energy, policy changes, wind vs. oil and gas on August 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Dept. of the Interior is reconsidering approval of US Wind Construction & Operations Plan
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged COP approval, litigation, Ocean City MD, Offshore Wind, US Dept. of the Interior, US Wind on August 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »
A new court filing (attached) informs that the Dept. of the Interior is reconsidering the Construction & Operations Plan (COP) approval for US Wind’s Maryland Offshore Wind (“MarWin”) Project (maps above). That approval is the subject of litigation filed by Ocean City MD and others.
The key section of the Federal government’s filing is pasted below.
- An extension in this case is necessary as Interior intends to reconsider its COP approval and move in the District of Maryland—the first-filed case—for voluntary remand of that agency action. See, e.g., Util. Solid Waste Activities Grp. v. EPA, 901 F.3d 414, 436 (D.C.Cir. 2018) (recognizing that administrative agencies have the authority to reconsider their decisions). The outcome of Interior’s reconsideration has the potential to affect the Plaintiff’s claims in this case.
Nantucket Current opinion piece challenges Select Board rhetoric
Posted in Offshore Wind, energy policy, climate, tagged Vineyard Wind, Nantucket, climate change, historic preservation, Dawn Hill, Select Board on August 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Victoria Bonnet’s piece in the Nantucket Current challenges certain assertions made at the Select Board’s July 29 press conference. Key points:
“The government documents for ALL the Atlantic projects make it clear that there will be no benefit to climate change from implementing wide scale offshore wind.”
“And how is it possible that an attorney representing an island that is receiving the full brunt of the environmental impacts from this massive industrial project is lecturing the press that historic preservation can co-exist with offshore wind? The sight of just the first 40 towers from Vineyard Wind makes it clear they can’t.”
“Blindly following public relations statements about offshore wind as a critical solution to climate change that must be implemented immediately is how we got here in the first place. It has become clear that Nantucket receives no benefits from, but is significantly harmed by, Vineyard Wind. Our Select Board’s role should not be to advocate for any energy source that harms Nantucket.”
“Dawn Hill, a signatory to the Good Neighbor Agreement and the current Select Board Chair, was a bright spot in the meeting. Her acknowledgment that the project is way more impactful than communicated at the time the Good Neighbor Agreement was signed gives hope that more rational thinking and action is on the way.“
Denmark relies heavily on imported power
Posted in climate, energy policy, Offshore Wind, tagged Denmark, electricity imports, Jens Christiansen, Wind Energy on August 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »
As indicated in the Jens Christiansen graphic above, Denmark’s net imports exceeded 80% of demand several times in July. Per Jens, a Danish physicist, “this is the downside of being a wind leader we have to talk about.”
MV Times raises more Vineyard Wind transparency questions
Posted in decommissioning, energy policy, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged decommissioning, financial assurance, MV Times, transparency, turbine production data, Vineyard Wind on August 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »
MV Times: “The recent site visit raised questions on the production of the wind farm. The Times has been able to neither verify the report independently nor confirm disparities between visuals on the ground and the Iberdrola report.”
- Avangrid, an Iberdrola subsidiary and one of Vineyard Wind’s developers, reported that 17 out of 62 turbines were currently sending power to the Massachusetts grid.
- The MV Times counted between five and nine turbines spinning at different points, and for different intervals, in their two hour visit.
- BOE comment: Although there are many possible reasons for this discrepancy, it’s reasonable to question the absence of turbine output data. Developers assert that generator specific data are sensitive and could have market implications. However, these turbines are operating on public lands and were in part publicly funded. Output data and other performance metrics clearly have policy implications.
- Note that Iberdrola “expect[s] no impact from new federal budget legislation, as it doesn’t impact 1,000 megawatts under construction.”
An MV Times photo of a Vineyard Wind substation is pasted below. These substations are large structures. Per the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for Vineyard Wind, the topsides for a conventional electrical service platform (ESP) (also known as an offshore substation or OSS) are 45 x 70 x 38 m, which is larger in surface area than a typical 6-pile oil and gas platform (~30 x 30 m), and is comparable in size to a large jackup drilling rig.
Decommissioning financial assurance requirements were relaxed to reduce development costs, thus increasing taxpayer liability risks. This policy decision should be reviewed.
BOEM Rescinds Designated Wind Energy Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Wind, tagged BOEM, de-designating, designated wind energy areas on July 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“By rescinding WEAs, BOEM is ending the federal practice of designating large areas of the OCS for speculative wind development, and is de-designating over 3.5 million acres of unleased federal waters previously targeted for offshore wind development across the Gulf of America, Gulf of Maine, the New York Bight, California, Oregon, and the Central Atlantic.”
Nantucket gives Vineyard Wind 2 weeks to respond to demands
Posted in Offshore Wind, energy policy, tagged Vineyard Wind, Nantucket, Good Neighbor Agreement, press conference, 15 demands, Dawn Hill on July 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »
On Tuesday morning, the Nantucket Select Board blasted Vineyard Wind and gave the company 2 weeks to respond to their 15 demands. The Nantucket Current provides good coverage of the press conference. The specific demands are listed below.
- Text emergency notifications to designated Town officials within 1 hour.
- Alert the same officials when blade monitors detect anomalies.
- Share with Nantucket the content of any written communications with or from federal agencies regarding project failures that have impacts on Nantucket.
- Email detailed monthly project updates to the Select Board and Town Manager.
- Present updates and take public questions at Select Board meetings upon request and no less than quarterly.
- Respond to written questions from the Select Board within three business days.
- Provide relevant project reports within 1 week of submission to any agency.
- Share all studies or data reports on adverse effects within five business days of receipt.
- Disclose correspondence with regulatory agencies within 15 business days.
- Notify the Town if the company is asserting any confidentiality claims to shield public disclosure of reports or data in regulatory filings.
- Pay liquidated damages ($250,000) per violation of the above communication protocols.
- Pay liquidated damages ($25,000) per turbine per day) for each day that turbine lights are on without the Aircraft Detection and Lighting System (ADLS) being active.
- Within 2 months, initiate a process to seek public input on new emergency response plans—including blade failure scenarios.
- Establish and maintain a $10 million escrow fund to ensure coverage of cleanup costs from future failures.
- Permanently suspend new projects if any future incident forces beach closures or shellfish harvesting bans for seven consecutive days or 14 total days in any 6-month period.
I observed the press conference on the Town’s YouTube channel, and my sense is that this may be Vineyard Wind’s last chance to amicably resolve these issues. Board member Dawn Hill, who now regrets signing the increasingly unpopular Good Neighbor Agreement with Vineyard Wind, didn’t hold back when she said:
“These wind turbines are bigger, brighter, and much more impactful than we ever thought, and not to mention the environmental hazard from failures. But my choice would be with our new, federal administration to really wake up and try and put an end to these things, because they’re not worth it to the coast of the United States.”
Emergency Petition to Revoke Empire Wind Letter of Authorization
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged Empire Wind, NOAA, petition to revoke LOA, Save the East Coast - NJ on July 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The attached petition from Save the East Coast Inc. et al requests that NOAA revoke the Empire Wind Letter of Authorization using the emergency authority delineated at 50 C.F.R. § 216.106(f).
This is a strong filing, but revocation would be difficult given the extensive development activity to date and the Administration’s decision in May to allow the project to go forward.
Vineyard Wind construction update from the New Bedford Light
Posted in Offshore Wind, tagged construction update, New Bedford Light, Vineyard Wind on July 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »
- Vineyard Wind is now sending power from 17 turbines to the Massachusetts grid, up from four in May.
- According to satellite images, it appears at least 40 of the project’s 62 turbines are in the water as of this month.
- Can’t tell how many blades are from the Canadian plant that manufactured the blade that failed, and therefore need to be removed and replaced.
- A cross-examination of past detailed maps from Vineyard Wind and new satellite images suggests that about 22 of the 40 seemingly installed turbines are likely complete.
- A second turbine installation vessel, the new Danish jack-up Wind Pace, has arrived and is assisting the Sea Installer, the primary installation vessel.
Given the absence of updates from Vineyard Wind and its regulators, the excellent reporting by local media like the New Bedford Light and Nantucket Current is much appreciated.
Nantucket to hold Vineyard Wind press conference on Tuesday
Posted in accidents, energy policy, Offshore Wind, tagged press conference, Town of Nantucket, turbine blade failure, Vineyard Wind on July 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Nantucket Current: Nantucket officials and attorneys will hold a press conference next Tuesday, July 29th, at 9:30 a.m. regarding “Vineyard Wind’s failure to meet its legal and public commitments to the community.”
Meanwhile, is this a satisfactory response from BSEE to the Current’s inquiry regarding the bureau’s long delayed report on the turbine blade incident?
“BSEE’s comprehensive and independent investigation is ongoing,” an agency spokesperson wrote in an email to the Current on Tuesday. “There is no timetable for the completion of the investigation, as BSEE focuses on ensuring that the investigation is thorough and complete.”
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 