Category Archives: offshore wind development

Save LBI Petitions Feds to Rescind Improper 11th-Hour Prior Administration Amendment to Offshore Wind Leases, Impeding their Cancellation

LONG BEACH ISLAND, N.J., Oct. 28, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Save Long Beach Island, Inc. (Save LBI), a grassroots organization dedicated to sound energy policies and preserving our shore and ocean environment, has petitioned the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) to rescind amendments to offshore wind leases approved during the final days of the Biden Administration.

Save Long Beach Island, New Jersey (SAVE LBI)
Image caption: Save LBI Petitions Feds to Rescind Improper 11th-Hour Prior Administration Amendment to Offshore Wind Leases.

“In what appears to have been a calculated last-ditch effort to push a faltering offshore wind agenda, the DOI’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) changed offshore wind leases to effectively create roadblocks that make it more difficult to cancel existing leases,” said Bob Stern, a Ph.D. scientist and president of Save LBI, which has more than 10,000 supporters. “Without any public notice — or comment — new language was inserted into many leases in late December 2024 and January 2025, and the leases were then buried on an obscure government website.”

According to the petition filed on October 20, 2025 and signed by Save LBI and Rhode Island’s Green Oceans, the amended language effectively says an offshore wind lease on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) must first be suspended for 5 years before it can be cancelled, and that in the event of cancellation, compensation must be provided to the developer. (The petition is available at savelbi.org: https://www.savelbi.org/_files/ugd/a85a2b_2349c820b1384769a9b64411cf701a5e.pdf.)

“There is a huge problem with BOEM’s amended lease-cancellation language: it violates the renewable energy section of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) enacted by Congress in 2005, which does not contain a 5-year suspension prerequisite for cancellation, nor a compensation stipulation,” Stern explained. “That language applies specifically to oil and gas leases.”

The Save LBI petition states: “If Congress intended to include these limitations and protections in the renewable energy portion of OCSLA, such language would have been incorporated into the statute and regulations, but it was not.”

Save LBI has asked the DOI to immediately rescind the new lease language.

The organizations have also asked DOI to remove prior oil and gas lease cancellation criteria language in the leases that should have been updated in 2016 to “harmonize” with the federal regulations issued then that properly cover the cancellation of renewable energy leases.

“The unfortunate reality is that BOEM’s 11th-hour move to rewrite those leases was one of many egregious actions taken by an Administration determined to push these projects at all costs, regardless of their multifaceted harms and absence of benefit,” said Save LBI attorney Thomas Stavola, adding that Save LBI has challenged those actions in court.

In August, Save LBI formally petitioned the DOI to cancel the leases for the beleaguered Atlantic Shores South and North offshore wind projects and rescind existing permit approvals, citing a series of devastating environmental, social, and economic consequences. (See press release at savelbi.org: https://www.savelbi.org/_files/ugd/a85a2b_7605d6bd935448bdb13b23b7d2491192.pdf.) Plans for those projects call for erecting 357 thousand-foot-tall wind turbines less than 9 miles off the coast of Long Beach Island, Brigantine, and Atlantic City, closer to shore than any large offshore wind project in the world.

“We remain committed to canceling the Atlantic Shores leases,” Stern said. “The many harmful impacts of the Atlantic Shores projects are caused by their uniquely bad location. Location is the most critical factor in the entire decision-making process, yet it received little attention when those sites were approved without full and proper vetting or public input.”

The Department of the Interior has said it intends to propose new rules governing offshore wind lease and project approval. “Save LBI looks forward to offering our expertise to help shape those rules to provide for proper estimation of marine mammal impact, consolidation of leasing and project decisions, and assured turbine removal upon ceasing operation, among other issues,” Stern concluded.

ABOUT SAVE LBI  

Save LBI is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization that has been active in ongoing litigation and other efforts to protect the coastal and marine environment from the senseless industrialization of our oceans. The organization is led by Beach Haven, N.J. resident Bob Stern, a Ph.D. scientist with experience in environmental planning and environmental law. He is a former manager of the U.S. Department of Energy office responsible for overseeing environmental protection related to energy projects and the Bureau of Air Quality Planning within the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). For more information on Save LBI and its efforts, please visit SaveLBI.org.

Contact: https://www.savelbi.org/contact

For more information click here: https://www.savelbi.org

ABOUT GREEN OCEANS

Details are available here: https://www.green-oceans.org/our-story.

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NEWS SOURCE: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)


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The Offshore Wind Plot Thickens: Federal Government Announces Intent to Reconsider Prior Approval of Empire Wind 2 Project

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 2, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — In a significant development for coastal communities and marine conservation advocates, the U.S. Department of Justice has informed the federal court in Washington, D.C. that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) intends to reconsider its prior approval of the Empire Wind 2 offshore wind project. The announcement came in a filing made on September 30, 2025 in response to ongoing litigation brought by Save Long Beach Island, Inc. (Save LBI) and co-plaintiffs, including Save the East Coast, Protect Our Coast Long Island NY (POC-LINY), and other individuals and businesses, challenging previous federal approvals for the Empire Wind project.

Federal Government Announces Intent to Reconsider Prior Approval of New York's Empire Wind 2 Project
Image caption: Save Long Beach Island, Inc. (Save LBI) and co-plaintiffs, including Save the East Coast, Protect Our Coast Long Island NY (POC-LINY).

In its submission, the government stated that BOEM “intends to undertake a reconsideration of its COP [Construction and Operations Plan] approval for Empire Wind 2,” acknowledging that the review could affect the scope of the case and any decision on the pending motions before the Court.

Empire Wind, slated to be located as close as 19 miles off the coast of New Jersey, with 57 wind turbines for Empire Wind 1 (816 MW) and up to 90 wind turbines for Empire Wind 2 (1,260 MW), has faced mounting scrutiny for potential violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Meanwhile, New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith has also asked U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to pause Empire Wind based on national security concerns stemming from the potential for the wind turbines to interfere with air defense radars. Absent Executive action, the courts will decide the Empire Wind issue.

“This is a major admission by the federal government that its prior approval of Empire Wind 2 cannot stand as is,” said Bob Stern, Ph.D. scientist and president of Save Long Beach Island, Inc. “It strengthens the argument for a pause to the Empire Wind 1 project. The process and methods for presenting impacts were the same for both projects. If Project 2 has legal and scientific flaws, so has Project 1.”

The litigation continues with respect to Empire Wind, as Empire Wind 1 is under construction.

“The government’s reconsideration of Empire Wind 2 is a welcome step, and it functionally weakens the credibility of their defense of Empire Wind 1,” added Thomas Stavola Jr. Esq., attorney for the plaintiffs. “The projects cannot be separated – both approvals are built on the same tenuous legal foundation, and both must be revisited to comply with the law.”

Save LBI and co-plaintiffs Save the East Coast, Protect Our Coast LINY, and other individuals and businesses will continue to press their case in federal court, while urging BOEM to revise the rules for offshore wind approvals to fully address current environmental impact and legal shortcomings.

For more on Save LBI and key co-plaintiffs in the Empire Wind lawsuit, please visit:

Save LBI: https://www.savelbi.org/

Save the East Coast: https://save-the-east-coast.org/

Protect Our Coast – Long Island NY: https://pocliny.org/

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NEWS SOURCE: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)


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Feds Respond to Save LBI Lawsuit with Motion to Reconsider Approvals for Massive Atlantic Shores Wind Farm Off the Coast of New Jersey

Fight to cancel beleaguered offshore project is another victory but the fight continues

WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 29, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — In a major development for offshore wind oversight and marine environmental protection, the federal government has filed a motion in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to remand the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Construction and Operations Plan (COP) and Record of Decision (ROD) approvals for the controversial Atlantic Shores South offshore wind project, planned only 8.7 miles east of New Jersey’s coast. The filing comes in direct response to a federal lawsuit brought by Save Long Beach Island, Inc. (Save LBI) and a coalition of individuals, businesses, and nonprofit plaintiffs.

Visual simulation of Atlantic Shores South project - Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Image caption: Visual simulation of what the Atlantic Shores South project would look from Holgate on Long Beach Island, NJ. Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

The lawsuit — filed on July 11, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia — challenges the legality of federal approvals granted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under laws including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), Outer-Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), and the Administrative Procedures Act (APA).

“This filing means federal agencies are going back to the drawing board,” said Bob Stern, Ph.D. scientist and president of Save LBI. “It’s a rare and important moment. It confirms the seriousness of the technical and scientific concerns we’ve raised, for many years now — especially regarding the impacts to endangered North Atlantic right whales and cumulative construction and operation harms to the North Atlantic right whale migration corridor.”

“This is a significant admission by the federal agencies that the Atlantic Shores approvals cannot withstand legal scrutiny in their current form,” said Thomas Stavola Jr. Esq., attorney for Save LBI. “The agencies have now recognized that their environmental review process was flawed and must be revisited. This constitutes a vindication of Plaintiffs’ rights and an acknowledgement of the validity of Plaintiffs’ lawsuit claims.”

The government’s motion requests that the Court remand the COP for Atlantic Shores South so the agencies can reassess the project under governing environmental statutes. That remand effectively dismisses the prior permit approvals granted under those statutes and will likely result in substantial revisions, additional environmental analysis, or a full cancellation of Atlantic Shores’ approval.

The Save LBI and allies’ lawsuit was the first to mount a comprehensive, multi-statute challenge to the Atlantic Shores project, citing data deficiencies, injurious impacts to marine mammals, tourism, economy, and electric rates and failures to assess cumulative impacts across the broader offshore wind buildout.

Today’s motion to remand marks a major inflection point in offshore wind permitting.

The Court will now review the government’s motion and determine whether to grant the remand. While Atlantic Shores currently has most of its federal approvals for the Atlantic Shores South project, earlier this year, Save LBI was responsible for compelling the remand of Atlantic Shores’ Clean Air Act permit to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). That permit remains with the EPA.

Save LBI will continue advocating for a full rescission of unlawful approvals, protection of the right whale’s migration, and an overhaul of BOEM and NMFS’s offshore wind permitting practices.

About Save LBI

Save LBI is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization that has been active in ongoing litigation and other efforts to protect the coastal and marine environment from the senseless industrialization of our oceans. The organization is led by Beach Haven, N.J. resident Bob Stern, a Ph.D. scientist with experience in environmental planning and environmental law. He is a former manager of the U.S. Department of Energy office responsible for overseeing environmental reviews related to energy projects and the Bureau of Air Quality Planning within the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). For more information on Save LBI and its efforts, please visit SaveLBI.org.

Contact: https://www.savelbi.org/contact

For more information click here: https://www.savelbi.org

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IMAGE CAPTION 1: Atlantic Shores South (blue/orange) and North (outline) lease areas off the coast of Atlantic City and Long Beach Island, NJ. Source: NOAA Fisheries.

IMAGE 2: https://www.send2press.com/300dpi/25-0722-s2p-savelbiboem-300dpi.jpg

IMAGE CAPTION 2: Visual simulation of what the Atlantic Shores South project would look from Holgate on Long Beach Island, NJ. Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

NEWS SOURCE: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)


This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)), who is solely responsible for its accuracy, by Send2Press Newswire. Image, if any, was provided by the news source and not this website or the wire service. Information is believed accurate, as provided by the news source, but is not guaranteed.

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New Jersey’s Save LBI Applauds Federal Offshore Energy Process Reform, Calls for Early Public Engagement and Major Rule Revisions

LONG BEACH ISLAND, N.J., Aug. 21, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Save Long Beach Island, Inc. (Save LBI), a grass-roots organization with more than 10,000 supporters dedicated to sound energy policies and preserving our shore and ocean environment, today praised the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Douglas Burgum for announcing a long overdue overhaul of the federal rules governing offshore renewable energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

Visual simulation of Atlantic Shores South project - Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Photo caption: Visual simulation of what the Atlantic Shores South project would look from Holgate on Long Beach Island, NJ. Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

The group, which has long raised concerns about a flawed decision-making process that has resulted in unbalanced and environmentally damaging offshore projects, welcomed the Department’s August 7 announcement as a critical step toward restoring transparency, accountability, and alignment with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).

“This reform effort is a clear response to concerns we raised in our July 2025 petition calling for cancellation of the Atlantic Shores South and North lease areas off the coast of Long Beach Island, Brigantine, and Atlantic City,” said Dr. Bob Stern, president of Save LBI. (The petition is available at https://www.savelbi.org/communications.) “We thank Secretary Burgum for his leadership in reexamining a regulatory framework that has failed both communities and the environment.”

In a letter of August 11, 2025, Stern urged the DOI to create an early opportunity for stakeholder engagement — before the draft rules are written — through mechanisms such as an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM). This would allow community advocates, scientists, industry, and local governments to offer innovative solutions while the new regulations are still being shaped, instead of after draft regulatory language is published.

Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)
Image caption: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI) logo.

The organization highlighted several key reforms it believes must be included in the new rules:

  • Flip the Wind Energy Area Designation Process: Define off-limits zones for wind development upfront based on clear criteria, such as distance from shorelines, military radar, and whale migration corridors.
  • End Segmented Decision-Making: Require integrated project proposals linking location and project design, evaluated through a single regional environmental impact statement treating all proposals in a region as alternatives, to enable fair, transparent, legally required comparisons.
  • Strengthen Marine Mammal Protections: Establish rigorous, standardized methods for calculating potential harm, developed jointly with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
  • Mandate Turbine Removal: Require enforceable removal plans and financial assurances to prevent abandoned offshore structures.

“Flawed siting decisions and a dismissive approval process have fueled public outcry,” Stern concluded. “If this rulemaking is to succeed, the process must be transparent, science-based, and responsive to the communities most affected.”

Save LBI pledged to contribute policy expertise and constructive solutions throughout the reform effort.

About Save LBI:

Save LBI is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization that has been active in ongoing litigation and other efforts to protect the coastal and marine environment from the senseless industrialization of our oceans. The organization is led by Beach Haven, N.J. resident Bob Stern, a Ph.D. scientist with experience in environmental planning and environmental law. He is a former manager of the U.S. Department of Energy office responsible for overseeing environmental protection related to energy projects and the Bureau of Air Quality Planning within the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).

For more information on Save LBI and its efforts, click here: https://www.savelbi.org.

Contact: https://www.savelbi.org/contact

MULTIMEDIA:

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PHOTO CAPTION: Visual simulation of what the Atlantic Shores South project would look from Holgate on Long Beach Island, NJ. Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

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NEWS SOURCE: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)


This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)), who is solely responsible for its accuracy, by Send2Press Newswire. Image, if any, was provided by the news source and not this website or the wire service. Information is believed accurate, as provided by the news source, but is not guaranteed.

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New Jersey’s Save LBI Petitions Trump Administration to Rescind Permits and Cancel Leases for Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Projects

LONG BEACH ISLAND, N.J., Aug. 5, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI), a grass-roots organization with more than 10,000 supporters dedicated to sound energy policies and preserving our shore and ocean environment, has formally petitioned the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to cancel the leases for the Atlantic Shores South and North offshore wind projects and rescind existing permit approvals.

Atlantic Shores South (blue/orange) and North (outline) lease areas off the coast of Atlantic City and Long Beach Island, NJ. Source: NOAA Fisheries.
Image caption: Atlantic Shores South (blue/orange) and North (outline) lease areas off the coast of Atlantic City and Long Beach Island, NJ. Source: NOAA Fisheries.

Save LBI has long opposed both Atlantic Shores projects, which portend a number of devastating environmental, social, and economic consequences for New Jersey coastal communities. Project plans call for erecting 357 thousand-foot-tall wind turbines less than 9 miles off the coast of Atlantic City and Long Beach Island, closer to shore than any large offshore wind project in the world.

To name but a few of the many adverse impacts, these projects would:

  • Degrade the island’s pristine shore environment and lifeblood tourism economy.
  • Obstruct migration of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, whose population has dwindled to around 370, all but guaranteeing its extinction.
  • Disturb the behavior of the bottlenose dolphin and significantly reduce its population.
  • Compromise national security by impairing the early warning air-defense radar system at Gibbsboro, NJ.
  • Degrade the pristine air quality at nearby Brigantine National Wilderness Area, which is afforded special federal protections under the Wilderness Act and Clean Air Act.
  • Destroy now submerged archeological sites dating back to the Ice Age, which could shed light on the first humans to come to North America.
  • Substantially increase the already spiraling cost of electricity throughout New Jersey.

FLAWED FROM THE START

Save LBI has contended throughout the approval process and in subsequent litigation that the permits issued to the Atlantic Shores South (OCS-A 0499) and North (OCS-A 0549) projects are seriously flawed. The actual impacts of these projects were misrepresented, systematically underestimated, and not fully disclosed.

“The root cause of the many harmful impacts of the Atlantic Shores projects is their uniquely bad location,” explained Save LBI president and co-founder Bob Stern. “Location is the most critical factor in the entire decision-making process, yet it received little attention many years ago when a DEP-led task force approved those sites without full and proper vetting or public input.”

The record shows that many of the negative consequences Save LBI and others have been publicly denouncing for years were not even considered. “Project modifications cannot cure the uniquely bad siting of these projects, which is why the Atlantic Shores South and North lease areas must be cancelled,” Stern concluded.

The Save LBI petition also reminds DOI Secretary Douglas Burgum of the urgent need to:

  • Implement the Offshore Wind Directive issued by President Trump on January 20, 2025.
  • Address the concerns expressed by candidate Trump raised at a public event in Wildwood, NJ last year.
  • Rescind permit approval under the Endangered Species Act to help prevent extinction of the endangered right whale.
  • Expedite lease cancellation to prevent further whale injuries when the next migration season begins in December.

Visual simulation of Atlantic Shores South project - Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Image caption: Visual simulation of what the Atlantic Shores South project would look from Holgate on Long Beach Island, NJ. Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

The Save LBI petition (available at https://www.savelbi.org/communications) reviews the official criteria for lease cancellation and illustrates how the criteria are met, and how 11 of the 12 legal requirements for such leases are not met. Finally, the petition summarizes more than two decades of incorrect assumptions, mistakes, and process failures in selecting and approving the lease areas. Save LBI believes that these lease areas should not have been approved in the first place, and that if that process is ever started again there is no rational way these leases would be deemed acceptable.

About Save LBI

Save LBI is a not-for profit, non-partisan organization that has been active in ongoing litigation and other efforts to protect the coastal and marine environment from the senseless industrialization of our oceans. The organization is led by Beach Haven, N.J. resident Bob Stern, a Ph.D. scientist with experience in environmental planning and environmental law. He is a former manager of the U.S. Department of Energy office responsible for overseeing environmental protection related to energy projects and the Bureau of Air Quality Planning within the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). For more information on Save LBI and its efforts, please visit SaveLBI.org.

Contact: https://www.savelbi.org/contact

For more information click here: https://www.savelbi.org

Link (Save LBI Lease Cancellation Petition): https://www.savelbi.org/communications

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IMAGE CAPTION 1: Atlantic Shores South (blue/orange) and North (outline) lease areas off the coast of Atlantic City and Long Beach Island, NJ. Source: NOAA Fisheries.

IMAGE 2: https://www.send2press.com/300dpi/25-0722-s2p-savelbiboem-300dpi.jpg

IMAGE CAPTION 2: Visual simulation of what the Atlantic Shores South project would look from Holgate on Long Beach Island, NJ. Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

NEWS SOURCE: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)


This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)), who is solely responsible for its accuracy, by Send2Press Newswire. Image, if any, was provided by the news source and not this website or the wire service. Information is believed accurate, as provided by the news source, but is not guaranteed.

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Save LBI Petitions Federal Agencies to Create a Safe Migration Corridor from Georgia to Maine to Save the North Atlantic Right Whale from Extinction

LONG BEACH ISLAND, N.J., April 8, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Save LBI, the non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting our oceans from the destructive impacts of offshore wind projects, has filed a petition urging the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC)/National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Department of the Interior (DOI)/Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to create a safe migration corridor from Maine to Georgia that will allow the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW) to survive as a species.

The critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Credit: Save LBI (generated with AI tools)
Image caption: The critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Credit: Save LBI (generated with AI tools).

With a population that has dwindled to 340, the magnificent right whale is perilously close to extinction and faces a new, greater and ominous threat from numerous proposed offshore wind-turbine complexes up and down the East Coast.

Save LBI’s 234-page petition seeks to establish a migratory corridor as a critical habitat that would provide a vital “missing link” between critical habitats the NMFS designated in 1994, and later expanded, to protect the right whale’s feeding grounds off the coast of Maine (and New England) and its calving grounds off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina. No habitat protections currently exist between these areas in the far north and south, putting the whale’s survival at great risk.

Central to the petition is the call to prohibit offshore wind development within the proposed protected zone and to establish a buffer that would allow noise from any nearby wind turbines to dissipate and drop below levels known to disturb the whales.

“Restricting the development of offshore wind projects in the migration path of the North Atlantic right whale is crucial to preventing its extinction,” explained Bob Stern, president and co-founder of Save LBI. “Our petition defines the whale’s primary historic migration corridor and presents calculations showing how operational noise from the numerous proposed offshore wind turbine complexes will at a minimum seriously impair and potentially block its annual migration. Without a protected migration corridor and a prohibition on wind complexes in its path, the North Atlantic right whale will not survive.”

Save LBI data reveals that nearly 80 percent of NARW deaths between 2000 and 2020 occurred within the proposed critical habitat migration corridor — even though vessel speed-restriction zones have been in place since 2008.

“Sadly, all efforts to date have not reversed the decline of the right whale,” emphasized Stern, an experienced Ph.D. engineer who managed the U.S. Department of Energy office overseeing environment protection related to energy programs. “The threat is real. The Atlantic Shores South and North projects less than 9 miles off the coast of southern New Jersey, and others like it, are sited directly in the whale’s migratory path, which will accelerate and ultimately seal its extinction unless we act.” (For more on the Atlantic Shores projects and Save LBI’s actions related to those projects, click here: https://www.savelbi.org/press-releases.)

The Save LBI petition also seeks new federal rules that would:

  • Cancel wind-energy lease areas within the corridor consistent with the designation of a critical migration habitat.
  • Reinitiate Endangered Species Act [Section 7(a)(2)] consultations where, based on regulation criteria, the designated habitat “may be affected” by a wind project.
  • Establish a dedicated general taxpayer fund to defray potential costs associated with any new restrictions from the critical habitat designation that would otherwise be borne by specific industries, including shipping and fishing enterprises.

Pending the outcome of a rulemaking decision, the Save LBI petition further aims to preserve the proposed migration corridor in the interim by:

  • Pausing all activities associated with placing wind turbines in the designated area.
  • Suspending high-resolution geophysical surveying during the NARW migration season.
  • Reinitiating Endangered Species Act [Section 7(a)] consultations based on “new information revealing effects not previously considered”— in this case, as shown in the petition, major systemic underestimates in the NARW “take number” estimates used to approve Atlantic Shores South and other projects that use the same methods to calculate the number of incidental NARW deaths or injuries likely to occur during construction and operation of an offshore wind-turbine complex.

NARW: A National Treasure

The North Atlantic right whale, also known as the “urban whale,” is one of the largest and longest living animals on earth. This storied creature spends most of its life within 50 miles of the Atlantic coast as it moves gracefully between feeding grounds to the north and calving areas in the south, returning to the same locations annually thanks to its uncanny sense of navigation. Marine mammal migration is one of the great wonders of the world — especially when it involves a rare species such as the NARW — and public fascination is high, which explains the popularity of “whale watching” tours and town festivals up and down the East Coast as well as a preponderance of academic studies devoted to whales. Given a tiny population, every right whale saved is a step toward recovery, and every one lost, a step toward extinction — which is why Save LBI’s well-tailored legal protections are so important.

The Struggle for Survival

“For centuries, humans have failed the North Atlantic right whale — first through near-eradication from whaling and, more recently, through narratives that downplay the risk of offshore wind projects,” said lead researcher and Save LBI board member Denise Boccia.

“The National Marine Fisheries Service and BOEM have approved projects based on flawed and unsupported assumptions that significantly underestimate impacts, while major environmental organizations that protest similar impacts from oil and gas development remain silent or supportive, apparently mistakenly believing offshore wind offers discernible climate benefits. It does not,” Boccia continued. “University researchers who once voiced concern now appear content to pursue grant-funded projects. As a result, the responsibility to act falls to us, and to other groups and people who care about the many resources and natural treasures the ocean has to offer — including the endangered North Atlantic right whale.”

“Save LBI believes its petition provides a sensible approach to protecting the right whale from extinction, while restricting wind turbines from places where they obviously do not belong. Because the proposed migration corridor is relatively close to shore, the turbine prohibitions would also protect shore tourism industries, and avoid interference with our land-based air-defense radar systems. If we as a society want to save the North Atlantic right whale species from extinction, the migratory critical habitat designation is crucial,” Stern concluded.

“Readers are encouraged to express their support for the NARW migratory corridor petition to The White House, the Department of Commerce, and Department of the Interior.”

Contact information is listed below:

:: The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
whitehouse.gov/contact

:: Douglas Burgum, Secretary
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW, MS-4106
Washington D.C. 20240
(202) 208-3100
x.com/interior
facebook.com/USInterior
Email: Interior_Press@ios.doi.gov

:: Howard Lutnick, Secretary
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Ave, NW
Washington D.C. 20230
x.com/commercegov
facebook.com/Commercegov/
Email: PublicAffairs@doc.gov

About Save LBI
Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI) is an organization of citizens and businesses on and off the Island working together to protect the ocean and Long Beach Island and neighboring communities from the destructive impact of the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind projects and potentially other offshore wind projects. As a not-for-profit, non-partisan entity, we do not endorse any political candidates but vigorously pursue policies and actions that protect the Island and New Jersey communities. The organization is led by Beach Haven resident Bob Stern, a Ph.D. engineer with experience in environmental law who previously managed the U.S. Department of Energy’s office overseeing environment protection related to energy programs and projects. Visit SaveLBI.org for more information.

Contact: https://www.savelbi.org/contact

For more information click here: https://www.savelbi.org

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Image caption: The critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Credit: Save LBI (generated with AI tools).

NEWS SOURCE: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)


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New Jersey’s Save LBI Coalition Demands Full Disclosure of Structural and Safety Data for Atlantic Shores South Wind Turbines

BEACH HAVEN, N.J., Nov. 21, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Amid numerous recent instances of wind-turbine failures in the U.S. and around the world, the New Jersey citizen’s group Save LBI today called for an immediate and full public disclosure of all data related to the design, manufacture, maintenance, and failure rates for the components of the 200 wind turbines Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind plans to erect off the coast of southern Long Beach Island (LBI), Brigantine, and Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is also calling on the NJ Board of Public Utilities (NJ BPU) not to make any project-enabling new subsidy award unless and until that information is provided.

Vineyard Wind turbine-blade failure off Nantucket, MA in July (top); Vestas turbine collapse in August
Photo Caption: Vineyard Wind turbine-blade failure off Nantucket, MA in July (top); Vestas turbine collapse in August, one of three failures in six months at the Ameren wind farm in Schuyler County, MO.

The Vestas V236-15.0 MW turbine contracted for use by the Atlantic Shores South project is an unproven, first-of-its-kind design that stands 1,048 feet tall — three times the height of the Statue of Liberty — making it one of the tallest wind turbines in the world. It has three massive blades, each longer than a football field, which translates into 600 spinning behemoths in the Atlantic Shores South (OCS-A 0499) project area, the closest of which would be only 8.7 miles from shore, closer than anywhere else in the world.

Atlantic Shores should provide full, up-front disclosure on a number of issues, including:

  1. Technical details and Material Safety Data Sheets on all materials used in turbine manufacture.
  2. A discussion of the hazards associated with each material, including epoxies used for bonding.
  3. Failure rates and the potential consequences of turbine blade and other component failures impacting the marine environment, local food chain, and human life.
  4. Protocols for mitigating the environmental impact of turbine failures.
  5. Data on the structural integrity of the wind turbines (including the blades, towers, and other key components) as to their ability to withstand hurricanes, nor’easters, or other major storm events. (Project approvals have been granted even though a study by the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC) commissioned by the NJ Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has yet to be completed.)

In the wake of the blade failure at the Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Nantucket in July, Dr. Robert Stern, president of Save LBI, sent two letters to Atlantic Shores CEO Joris Veldhoven inviting Atlantic Shores to participate in a panel discussion at the LBI Foundation of the Arts & Sciences. Both were ignored, revealing a shocking level of arrogance and disrespect for a community that is justifiably concerned.

A Call for Transparency Amid the Rush to Build Ever-Larger Wind Turbines

Save LBI’s call for corporate and State Agency transparency follows a string of at least eight catastrophic offshore and onshore wind-turbine failures between April and November of 2024. The failures spanned three different turbine suppliers — Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, and GE Vernova — and involved not only collapsing blades but entire turbine structures toppling over [*notes 1-8]. Half of these failures involved Vestas turbines, causing great concern over the integrity of the colossal blades and supporting structures Atlantic Shores is planning to locate near New Jersey beaches [*note 9].

According to a 2023 report in Maintworld, a magazine for maintenance and asset management professionals, “turbine failures are on the uptick across the world…The instances are part of a rash of full collapses. A recent report says production issues may be to blame for the mysterious increase in failures [*note 10].”

In a May 2023 report entitled “Vertical Limit: When is bigger not better in offshore wind’s race to scale?” GCube Insurance, an underwriter for renewable energy projects, reviewed 10 years of claims data and found “offshore wind’s risk landscape has significantly shifted, as manufacturers push to develop bigger machines…Over the past five years, the race to scale turbine technologies has seen the leap from 8 megawatt (MW) to 18 MW turbines occurring in a fraction of the time it took to go from 3 MW to 8 MW. While this is a fantastic technological achievement, such rapid commercialization of ‘prototypical’ technologies is now leading to a concerning number of losses, and subsequently piling financial pressure on manufacturers, the supply chain, and the insurance market, according to GCube.” [*note 11]

Save LBI’s demand for accountability also comes amid revelations of a quality-control-data falsification scheme at a blade manufacturing facility in Canada [*note 12], and concern that such misrepresentations could be an industry-wide problem. “Our sources indicate that [falsifying data] is a widespread practice in the industry,” according to a Radio Gaspésie report [*note 13].

NJ: The De Facto Test-Bed for Super-Sized Wind Turbines

Atlantic Shores will be among the first to deploy the “super-sized” Vestas V236-15.0 MW wind turbine, which has never been tested in the harsh marine environment it will inhabit. Instead, testing was done on a land-based prototype turbine at the Østerild National test center in Denmark. New Jersey will, in effect, become a real-world Guinea pig for these newly designed gargantuan turbines.

In a series of videos on vestas.com, company executives boast how Vestas is “…leading the way into this new super-sized segment of wind turbines” and “…entering into some unprecedented territory on many of the manufacturing processes that we employ for building the blade [emphasis added]. We need to scale up renewables fast and the V236 15.0 megawatt is there to do just that. [*note 14].”

The structural integrity of the new “super-sized” blades is of particular concern to Save LBI and local communities because they are primarily made of a fiberglass composite similar to the material used in the GE Vernova Haliade-X blade [*note 15], which spontaneously collapsed while undergoing testing at the Vineyard Wind project. The blade failure sent countless shards of fiberglass and pieces of foam into the ocean, causing beach closures during the height of tourist season and putting marine life and the local food chain at risk.

“The Vineyard Wind disaster and the many others like it are wake-up calls that raise serious concerns about the structural integrity of wind turbines and the long-term impact of such failures on the environment — the effects of which are still being felt in Nantucket four months later [*note 16],” Dr. Stern said. “Even some proponents of offshore wind are now questioning whether the obvious risks are worth the purported benefits. Is this what those of us who live in the shadow of Atlantic Shores South have to look forward to?”

“It’s past time for NJ BPU staff and Atlantic Shores to directly engage and disclose the full impact of this ominous offshore wind project to the local communities that will be directly affected by it before any further work or decision-making proceeds,” he concluded.

About Save LBI

Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI) is an organization of citizens and businesses on and off the Island working together to protect the ocean and Long Beach Island and neighboring communities from the destructive impact of the Atlantic Shores project and potentially other offshore wind projects. As a not-for-profit, non-partisan entity, we do not endorse any political candidates but vigorously pursue policies and actions that protect the Island and New Jersey communities. The organization is led by Beach Haven resident Bob Stern, a Ph.D. engineer with experience in environmental law who previously managed the U.S. Department of Energy’s office overseeing environment protection related to energy programs and projects. Visit SaveLBI.org for more information and to make a donation.

Contact: https://www.savelbi.org/contact.

For more information click here: https://www.savelbi.org/.

References

Note: If a link doesn’t work, copy and paste the URL into a browser.

  1. Halkirk 2 wind facility shut down after [Vestas] turbine breaks, Nov. 9, 2024, https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/halkirk-2-wind-facility-shut-down-after-turbine-breaks-1.7104801
  2. Blade broken off Siemens Gamesa turbine at Swedish wind farm, Nov. 7, 2024, https://energywatch.com/EnergyNews/Renewables/article17617839.ece
  3. [Vestas] Wind turbine collapses in Schuler County [Missouri], third incident in six months, Oct. 31, 2024, https://khqa.com/news/local/wind-turbine-collapses-in-schuyler-county-third-incident-in-six-months

    https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/third-vestas-turbine-collapse-forces-us-wind-farm-offline/2-1-1733379

  4. [Vestas] Wind Turbine collapses in Schuyler County, Missouri, Aug. 27, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQHl5hTV5a0
  5. Second GE Vern ova turbine blade reportedly fails at UK’s Dogger Bank wind farm, Aug. 23, 2024, https://www.offshore-mag.com/renewable-energy/article/55135538/second-ge-vernova-turbine-blade-reportedly-fails-at-uks-dogger-bank-wind-farm
  6. Vineyard Wind incident was not first time a GE Vernova wind turbine came apart, Reuters, July 18, 2024 https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/vineyard-wind-incident-was-not-first-time-ge-vernova-wind-turbine-came-apart-2024-07-18/
  7. Dogger Bank Makes Statement on Site Incident [GE Vernova blade], May 10, 2024, https://nawindpower.com/dogger-bank-makes-statement-on-site-incident
  8. All northeastern [Vestas] wind turbines taken offline after 1 collapses in Schuyler County [on April 26], May 3, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sUCoZJ1Asc
  9. Energy analyst Philip Totaro on Vestas failures at the Ameren wind farm in Missouri, Nov. 2024, LinkedIn post: “The High Prairie hashtag#windenergy project in Schuyler County, Missouri suffers the third wind turbine collapse in six months. The project, owned by Ameren, has 163 units of Vestas V120 2.2-MW on 92 meter towers and 12 units of Vestas V112 3.45-MW on 94 meter towers. The causes of the previous collapses have not been publicly released.”

    https://www.linkedin.com/posts/philiptotaro_another-turbine-collapses-in-schuyler-county-activity-7257949289107120128-br3K?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

  10. Why do wind turbines break down more often? Jan. 31, 2023, https://www.maintworld.com/Asset-Management/Why-do-wind-turbines-break-down-more-often
  11. Ever-Growing Offshore Wind Turbines Bring Unsustainable Market Risks – GCube, May 4, 2023, https://www.offshorewind.biz/2023/05/04/ever-growing-offshore-wind-turbines-bring-unsustainable-market-risks-gcube/

    https://gcube-insurance.com/Insights/Reports/Vertical-Limit

  12. Canada station reports “falsification scheme” at turbine plant, Nov. 12, https://www.mvtimes.com/2024/11/12/canada-station-reports-falsification-scheme-turbine-plant/
  13. Possible falsification of data at LM Wind Power, Oct. 24, 2024, https://www.radiogaspesie.ca/nouvelles/actualite/falsification-possible-de-donnees-chez-lm-wind-power/
  14. Official documentation for the Vestas V236-15.0 MW wind turbine to be used in Atlantic Shores South project, com/en/energy-solutions/offshore-wind-turbines/V236-15MW
  15. Official documentation for the GE Vernova Haliade-X offshore wind turbine used in the Massachusetts Vineyard Wind project, com/wind-power/offshore-wind/haliade-x-offshore-turbine
  16. GE Vernova and Vineyard Wind Provide Update on Incident and Response Action Plan, Oct. 23, 2024, com/press-releases/2024/10/23/ge-vernova-and-vineyard-wind-provide-update-on-incident-and-response-action-plan

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Photo Caption: Vineyard Wind turbine-blade failure off Nantucket, MA in July (top); Vestas turbine collapse in August, one of three failures in six months at the Ameren wind farm in Schuyler County, MO.

NEWS SOURCE: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)


This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)), who is solely responsible for its accuracy, by Send2Press Newswire. Image, if any, was provided by the news source and not this website or the wire service. Information is believed accurate, as provided by the news source, but is not guaranteed.

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/new-jerseys-save-lbi-coalition-demands-full-disclosure-of-structural-and-safety-data-for-atlantic-shores-south-wind-turbines/

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NJ Coalition Slams Feds for Ignoring Key Environmental Impacts of Offshore Wind Development

Save LBI Calls Out Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for Flouting the National Environmental Policy Act and Misleading the Public

BEACH HAVEN, N.J., Oct. 25, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The New Jersey citizens group Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI) today rebuked the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for issuing a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that blatantly ignores critical environmental impacts for offshore wind development in six lease areas off the coast of New Jersey and New York in a region known as the New York Bight. The area lies to the north of the controversial Atlantic Shores South project (OCS-A 0499) off the southern coast of New Jersey, which received federal approval in July.

Map showing the six offshore-wind lease areas in the New York Bight region off the coast of New Jersey and New York. Source: BOEM.
Image caption: Map showing the six offshore-wind lease areas in the New York Bight region off the coast of New Jersey and New York. Source: BOEM.

BOEM’s Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Final PEIS) flouts the intent of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and masquerades as a “comprehensive” environmental review as it fails to address the most significant environmental decisions: the location of a wind project and the number and size of the wind turbines to be placed in the project area — decisions BOEM quietly covets for itself and the developer to make, according to Save LBI, the grassroots organization dedicated to protecting the New Jersey shore environment.

The 600-plus-page EIS, which is intended to justify BOEM’s selection of lease areas in the New York Bight region, remarkably only addresses technical mitigating measures, such as spotting whales at long distances, which unfortunately is largely ineffective and not environmentally significant.

“BOEM will now proceed to prepare EIS’s for projects within the New York Bight area without offering any real, environmentally different alternatives — only a choice to approve or disapprove the proposed developer’s project,” said Bob Stern, president and co-founder of Save LBI. “The real travesty here is that the outcome is already largely pre-determined since BOEM provides no criteria in those documents that would lead to disapproval of a project.”

In so doing, BOEM sidesteps the intent of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), enacted by Congress in 1970 to compel government agencies to seriously consider environmental impact when they make their most important and environmentally impactful decisions and to look at alternative means of accomplishing their goals through the process of preparing an EIS and allowing for public input.

Even more egregious, at no point in the flawed BOEM NEPA review process is the public allowed to inject its views and concerns regarding the most crucial environmental decisions of location and project size. “The BOEM process not only flouts NEPA’s intent but misleads and insults the public by following the ineffective and inefficient past process of pursuing only a single developer proposal, regardless of the potential environmental impact, and rendering the public’s input meaningless. It is situations like this that led to the passage of NEPA in the first place.”

Save LBI will be challenging the BOEM NEPA review process in court. The legality of that process will be determined by a judge, but from the standpoint of making sound decisions informed by the public, this is not a process to embrace.

About Save LBI:

Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI) is an organization of citizens and businesses on and off Long Beach Island (LBI), New Jersey working together to protect the ocean and the Island and neighboring communities from the destructive impacts of offshore wind projects. As a not-for-profit, non-partisan entity, we do not endorse any political candidates but vigorously pursue policies and actions that protect the Island and surrounding communities. The coalition is led by Beach Haven resident Dr. Bob Stern, a Ph.D. engineer with experience in environmental law who previously managed the U.S. Department of Energy’s office overseeing environment protection related to energy programs and projects.

Visit SaveLBI.org for more information and to make a donation. Click here: https://www.savelbi.org/

IMAGE LINK:

New York Bight

Click here: https://www.boem.gov/sites/default/files/images/lease_areas_image.png

Photo Caption: Map showing the six offshore-wind lease areas in the New York Bight region off the coast of New Jersey and New York. Source: BOEM.

NEWS SOURCE: Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)


This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI)), who is solely responsible for its accuracy, by Send2Press Newswire. Image, if any, was provided by the news source and not this website or the wire service. Information is believed accurate, as provided by the news source, but is not guaranteed.

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/nj-coalition-slams-feds-for-ignoring-key-environmental-impacts-of-offshore-wind-development/

Copr. © 2024 Send2Press® Newswire, Calif., USA. -- REF: S2P STORY ID: S2P121738 NOREL-3B