Offshore NJ/NY Wind Energy Development Open for Public Comments

The prospect of wind turbine arrays along the approaches to New York Harbor are now closer to being a reality. Some environmentalists and advocates for maritime industries are making their opinions known.

This is the largest U.S. petroleum products port. Some supporters for developing offshore wind energy and the jobs it would bring to the port area have also expressed concern that it be accomplished without increasing hazards in the East Coast shipping crossroads and with a minimal environmental impact.

In a series of regional meetings the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is gathering information on its latest “call area” to consider expanding offshore wind energy leasing in the New York Bight. The Bight is an arm of the Atlantic curved between New Jersey and New York’s Long Island shore, with the harbor entrance at its apex.

In response to a request from Governor Murphy, BOEM has extended the public comment period for offshore wind energy development in the four designated Call Areas within the New York/New Jersey Bight.

Although stakeholders will have other opportunities to provide comments during the wind energy development process, providing comments at this first stage is critical for reducing potential user conflicts and potential adverse impacts to marine species and habitats. The public comment now closes on July 30, 2018.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has collaborated with BOEM to facilitate 3 public comment sessions to help ensure that BOEM is aware of the questions or concerns that New Jersey’s marine resource stakeholders may have. Details of dates, times, locations, and other information, are included in the attachments.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has collaborated with BOEM to facilitate 3 public comment sessions to help ensure that BOEM is aware of the questions or concerns that New Jersey’s marine resource stakeholders may have.  Please note that only written comments will be considered as formal comment submissions; however, BOEM will provide comment cards at the meeting for handwritten submissions.

If you are unable to attend a meeting, or if you prefer to submit written comment to BOEM electronically, you must do so before July 30th.   Comments may be submitted electronically or in hard-copy form.   To submit comments online, or get information on how to mail in comments, please visit http://www.regulations.gov and in the search bar, enter ‘BOEM-2018-0004.’

The dates, times, and locations of the meetings are:
June 25th, 5-7pm, Ocean City Rec Center, East 8th and Haven Ave., Ocean City
July 9th, 5-7pm, Belmar Twp. Municipal Bldg., 601 Main St., Belmar
July 10th, 5-7pm, Stafford Twp. Municipal Bldg., 260 E. Bay Ave., Manahawkin

There is no cost to participate in the meeting(s)

U.S. Closer to Allowing Wind Farms Off New Jersey

According to The Wall Street Journal

The U.S. Interior Department expects little environmental impact from testing the feasibility of wind farms off the coast of four Atlantic coast states, according to a draft document released Monday.

The findings, which could be changed after the department reviews public comments, are an indication that the agency may be prepared to lease the areas for wind development without a more lengthy environmental review.

The document released Monday is a preliminary assessment of a proposal to lease areas off the coasts of New Jersey, Virginia, Delaware and Maryland and to allow companies to test whether the areas are viable for generating wind power. It is part of a wider push by the Obama administration to speed up the permitting process for what are known as wind farms.

In a news release asking for public comment on the document, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that, "with today's announcement, we are taking another step toward ensuring that renewable [energy] development along the Atlantic outer continental shelf becomes a reality."

The areas under consideration for lease include about 354,000 acres off southern New Jersey, 139,000 acres off the Virginia coast, 103,000 acres off Delaware's shores and 80,000 acres off the coast of Maryland. Leasing the areas and allowing testing there would have a relatively small effect on wildlife, commercial fishing, water quality and other concerns, the draft environmental review found.

Judge Halts WV Wind Farm Over Bats

"A federal judge’s ruling that stopped construction of a West Virginia wind farm to protect an endangered bat underscores the growing conflicts between green energy and imperiled wildlife.

But the case, thought to be the first of its kind involving a wind energy project, seems unlikely to derail other projects, as some wind energy advocates have feared, unless the operators ignore endangered species laws.."

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/judge-halts-wind-farm-over-bats/

Lawsuit Claims Wind Energy Project Would Kill Endangered Bats

Indiana bat roosting under shedding bark
Photo: Bat Conservation International via www.srs.fs.usda.gov

Organizations opposed to a wind energy project in West Virginia are using the Endangered Species Act to try to block the wind farms.

The claim is that endangered Indiana bats, and other bat species, are threatened by the wind-turbine towers. Bats can be killed by wind turbines when they are struck by spinning blades or get caught in the turbines' downdraft, which causes their lungs to rupture.

Plaintiff's witness Michael Gannon, a bat biologist and professor at Pennsylvania State University, said he is "very much in favor" of wind energy, but remains concerned that this project could have a devastating effect on the Indiana bat.

He also testified that when swaths of forest were clear cut to make way for turbines this past summer, important bat habitat may have been removed. (Indiana bats roost under the bark of dead trees.)

The companies involved in building the wind farm countered by saying there is no proof of the bat's presence in the area based on two mist net surveys in the area which found none of the endangered Indiana bats.

Testifying for the plaintiffs, Gannon argued these mist net surveys were poorly done, and that his own acoustic detection surveys in the area (recording bat sounds and identifying them through a computer program) did identify three Indiana bats.

Similar stories are published about the effects that these wind towers and even their warning lights might be having on the migration of birds.

It is another example of the line between what benefits people living in an area and what benefits the wildlife there, and the difficulty in finding the proper balance.

Bat Conservation International, for example, supports the development of alternative energy sources but also recognizes concerns on what the cumulative impacts of wind energy development might be on wildlife. This is especially if expansion occurs without careful planning to minimize harm to birds and bats.

Here's what they say on their site:

We believe that minimizing harmful impacts to wildlife is an essential element of “green energy” and that developers of wind energy must substantially increase efforts to improve siting and develop and test methods to reduce harm to wildlife. Additionally, state and federal agencies must increase support for responsible development of wind energy in a manner compatible with protecting wildlife resources. Cooperation, including access to study sites, funding, and transparency of information obtained, are fundamental elements needed to successfully resolve wind and wildlife conflicts. Response from industry has been mixed and while we applaud those companies and organizations working proactively with resource agency specialists and scientists to solve problems, more has to be done immediately to expand and improve the breadth of our cooperation in developing a sound, scientific basis for decision-making. This is especially true in Texas, which leads the nation in installed wind energy capacity, but woefully trails most states in regard to proactively addressing wildlife impacts.

• Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative
• Western Bat Working Group
• more about the case above at Southern Maryland Online
• Infrared videos of bats and turbines
• Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
• NWCC Wildlife Working Group
• Existing State Siting Guidelines
• USFWS Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee

Wind Adds Power To Ocean Gate

After two years of efforts, Ocean Gate, NJ broke ground to build the first "small wind" municipal turbine in the state.

"Ocean Gate is just a phenomenal role model for other communities," said state Board of Public Utilities President Jeanne M. Fox. "This is a historic ground-breaking. While you're small [about 2200 residents], you're really mighty in what you've done. I really commend you for what you've done for the state and for Ocean Gate."

Starting with a proposal to the borough council from retired Navy engineer Jim Fry in 2007, the town began researching the project.

That included having an anemometer installed to test the wind, adopting the Small Wind Model Ordinance, and researching turbines.

According to the N.J. Board of Public Utilities, Ocean gate will utilize two 50 kilowatt turbines to power the municipal office building and the water treatment plant solely on wind energy.

The system is estimated to save the borough 224,000 kilowatts of electricity purchased from traditional sources, and thus prevents 18 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the air. The borough has received nearly $200,000 in financial incentives from the state's Clean Energy Program for the approximately $600,000 project.

The borough was also recognized last fall as being the state's Clean Energy Municipality of the Year by the state Board of Public Utilities.

A wind feasibility study done by Rowan University confirmed that Ocean Gate and surrounding communities along the Toms River near the mouth of Barnegat Bay have consistent and reliable wind, with an average daily speed of 6 m.p.h. year around. That amount rates the area, according to the United States Wind Resource Map, as consistently "good" as a potential wind resource.

The state's first wind farm was built in 2007 outside Atlantic City by the Atlantic County Utilities Authority and a private energy group. It is also the first such coastal facility in the United States. Five pinwheel-like 40-story-tall turbines are utilized.

Ocean Gate's turbine will probably be only about as high as the town's water tower.

Ocean Gate is located on the south bank of the Toms River in an area popular with sailors for its confluence of wind with those from Barnegat Bay.

Officials plan to have the first municipal wind turbine in the state finished by the end of summer.