South Fork Offshore Wind Project

U.S. offshore wind turbines - credit: BOEM

In February 2022, a groundbreaking ceremony celebrated progress of the South Fork wind energy project. South Fork is the second commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project approved for federal waters in the United States.

The South Fork project will be located offshore Rhode Island and New York and have a capacity of 130 megawatts of wind energy.

In November 2021, the Department of the Interior announced the approval of the construction and operation of the South Fork wind project.

The South Fork project is expected to directly support approximately 165 jobs over the two-year construction period and approximately 10 long-term jobs during the operations and maintenance period. The project will also support jobs in the supply chain and service industries.

South Fork Wind Project Highlights:

On January 4, 2021, BOEM released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the South Fork Wind Farm and South Fork Export Cable Project. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the South Fork Wind Farm and South Fork Export Cable Project was published on August 16, 2021.

On January 18, 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the Construction and Operations Plan for the South Fork Wind Farm and South Fork Export Cable Project.

South Fork's offshore wind turbines will be located offshore Rhode Island and New York and have a capacity of 130 megawatts of wind energy.

Offshore Wind Power Facts

In 2022, the U.S. Federal government set a national offshore wind energy goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030.

BOEM expects to complete the review of at least 16 plans to construct and operate commercial offshore wind energy facilities by 2025.

BOEM expects to hold lease sales in the New York Bight and offshore the Carolinas and California in 2022.

The U.S. Federal government is actively working with states, Tribes, ocean users, and key stakeholders to explore wind potential in the Gulf of Maine and in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as offshore Oregon and Hawaii.

In 2020, the U.S. offshore wind energy project development and operational pipeline grew to a potential generating capacity of 35,324 megawatts (MW). Capacity increased by 24% 2020, up from 28,521 MW in 2019

As of 2022, two U.S. offshore wind energy projects are in operation: the Block Island Wind Farm (BIWF) and the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project (12 MW).

In the New England Region, Vineyard Wind 1 is fully approved, has received all permits, an offtake contract to sell the power, and an interconnection agreement to deliver it to the grid.

The U.S. offshore wind industry has the potential to generate more than $100 billion in revenue to businesses in the supply chain over the next decade.

The United States Wind Turbine Database (USWTDB) provides the locations of land-based and offshore wind turbines in the United States, corresponding wind project information, and turbine technical specifications. 

Offshore wind power turbine platforms provide habitat for fish and marine life.

Rotating wind turbines are known to pose a hazard to birds. Proposals have included locating marine wind power components along important bird migration routes.

Offshore wind power infrastructure can conflict with existing marine activity. Commercial fishermen and other mariners complain that wind power facilities can block or restrict access to prime fishing areas.

2016 State of the Coast Conference

2016 State of the Coast
June 1-3, 2016
New Orleans, LA
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
stateofthecoast.org

The 2016 State of the Coast conference is a interdisciplinary forum where participants can exchange timely and relevant information on the dynamic conditions of Louisiana’s coastal communities, environment, and economy.

The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL), The Water Institute of the Gulf, and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana (CPRA) partner to produce this forum, the need for which grows with every acre of land lost to the Gulf.

SOC16 will consist of three full days of presentations by leading experts in concurrent sessions, keynote presentations, poster sessions, and networking opportunities.

More than 1,000 scientists, landowners/managers, federal and state agency personnel, local officials, industry and business leaders, resource users, and interested citizens will be in attendance at the 4th iteration of this biennial conference.

source: stateofthecoast.org

2015 National Estuaries Day

National Estuaries Day will be held on Saturday, September 26, 2015.

In celebration of National Estuaries Day, beach clean-ups, hikes, canoe and kayak trips, cruises, workshops, and other special events are organized by Restore America's Estuaries member organizations, NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System, and EPA’s National Estuary Program.

National Estuaries Day began in 1988 to promote the importance of estuaries and the need to protect them. National Estuaries Day is held annually the last Saturday of September.

New Water-Quality Test May Reduce Beach Closures

A new rapid water-quality test provides accurate same day results of bacteria levels, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The new test could help reduce un-neccessary beach closures in both saltwater and freshwater environments. Beach closures not only impact recreational users in the summertime, but they also create huge losses for the local economy.

Due to a variety of waterborne illnesses, beaches have been at the forefront of recent research on human health risk.

The new rapid water-quality test, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will help managers across the country determine whether beaches are safe for swimming in order to keep the public from getting sick.

Previous tests could not provide same-day results, so managers had to decide whether to close a beach based on findings from the day before.

The new rapid test, called quantitative polymerase chain reaction for enterococci, is recommended by the EPA, but it is not a requirement. The test has been included in the 2012 EPA guidelines for safe levels of indicator bacteria, including: Escherichia coli (E. coli) and enterococci.

source: U.S. Geological Survey

Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment Grants

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) recently announced the availability of Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment grants.

2013 grants will focus on long term conservation of the state’s wild salmon strongholds, which represent some of Oregon’s most productive and intact aquatic ecosystems and sustain the state’s largest and most diverse runs of salmon and other native aquatic species.

Oregon’s seven recognized strongholds include: the Tillamook/Nehalem, Illinois, North Umpqua, Sandy/Clackamas, Lower Deschutes, North Fork John Day, and Lower Grand Ronde (Joseph Creek, Minam River, and Wenaha River) watersheds. Salmon populations found in these systems support a variety of recreational, commercial, and Tribal fisheries.

Grant proposals requesting up to $75,000 in grant funds are being invited to support two types of projects in and across the state’s seven salmon strongholds:

1) on-the-ground habitat improvements in strongholds;

2) programmatic activities that seek to prevent the continued loss and degradation of habitats.

All projects must address the key limiting factors or threats that have been identified in existing watershed plans or assessments as bottlenecks to salmonid abundance. Approximately $300,000 in grant funds is anticipated to be awarded through this grant round.

Pre-proposals should be submitted by November 28, 2012 through NFWF’s online application system, Easygrants. Pre-proposals will be evaluated and ranked, and the strongest projects will be invited to submit full proposals due on January 31, 2013.
Full proposal applicants will be notified of grant awards by April 2013, with funds available for projects shortly thereafter. Approved projects should be completed within two years.

Eligible applicants include non-profit conservation organizations, watershed councils, soil and water conservation districts, tribes, schools, local, state and federal government agencies, and other special districts.

Applicants should log onto NFWF’s Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment program webpage at www.nfwf.org/orgovfund to review proposal criteria and requirements and to submit a pre-proposal.

source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service