Special Report: Wind Farms and Their Effect on Boating
Twisting in the Wind
Is the wind farm apocalypse nigh? That depends on who you talk to and where your interests and priorities lie.
This past Halloween (2023), the U.S. Department of the Interior approved the largest single wind farm project in United States history. With trick or treating, fall striper and redfish runs and the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show, you’d be forgiven if that news escaped your attention, but as a boater, it shouldn’t have. When Dominion Energy’s $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is completed in 2026, 176 titanic turbines spinning a mile apart 27 miles offshore from Virginia Beach, will generate an astonishing 2.6 gigawatts of electricity. That’s not only enough to power 900,000 homes, but the price comes in at around a third of the cost of the pair of new reactors at Georgia’s Vogtle Nuclear plant that will generate roughly the equivalent flow of electrons. When these turbines are online, some of those electrons will reach your home’s air conditioner or the batteries that run your Tesla, iPhone or trolling motor.
Wherever it’s flowing, in the United States, we love our juice, and that juice has to come from somewhere. Regardless of whether you subscribe to the science of fossil fuel carbon-dioxide induced global warming, government and industry worldwide are making massive investments in non-carbon power sources, and over the last couple of decades, wind has quietly grown to supply over nine percent of all the United States’ electricity. Up to now, most of the huge turbine generators have been built in the West and Midwest, and unlike northern Europe, where countries like England can get up to half of their total energy from oceanic turbines on a windy day, North America currently has few (as in, only seven) operational oceanic turbines. But that’s about to change dramatically. And that fact has some boaters mightily concerned. In addition to Virginia Wind, four other wind farms have been approved by the Biden administration. They’re moving in fits and starts, but they are moving. Off Martha’s Vineyard, Vineyard Wind is building 62 turbines. In New York, Orsted’s 135 megawatt South Fork Wind will place 12 turbines 35 miles south of Montauk, while its 704 megawatt Revolution Wind project will place another 100-plus turbines twelve miles southwest of the Vineyard.
The Biden administration had hoped to see 30 gigawatts of wind turbines built off the U.S. Eastern seaboard by 2030. But that number is already running into hurdles. Orsted just canceled its Ocean Wind project amidst protests and increasing costs. Those 98 turbines, 15 miles off the Jersey coast were to generate 1.1 gigawatt. Still, Bloomberg predicts at least 15 gigawatts worth of turbines will be spinning by decade’s end. Ultimately, offshore lease maps show the potential for more than 3,000 turbines stretching from the Carolinas to Maine. Depending on who you talk to, these wind farms represent an unprecedented experiment in industrialization of our wild, offshore Atlantic coastline or a vast opportunity to generate almost limitless low-impact, zero carbon electricity thanks to the nearly constant winds that blow out to sea.
You’d think that such clean energy would be a natural “yes” to environmentally plugged in, sea-level-rise conscious and storm-weary boaters, fishermen and coastal dwellers, but that’s not necessarily the case. Offshore wind has become an incredibly contentious issue. Pitting boaters against energy companies, state and local governments and conservation organizations against each other. Like most hot topics today, it’s also spawned dubious science and conspiracy theories. What’s a whale-loving, offshore fishing, great-looping, cruising boater to make of it all? Well, we’ve spent a lot of time reading up and speaking with folks on all sides of the issue who know more than we do—and we’ve learned a lot in the process. There’s plenty to digest. What are the known knowns, the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns? Well, here’s a primer for serious boaters.
Our sources. In addition to reports in scientific journals and reporting from The Washington Post and The New York Times, we’ve spoken with:
Jessica Redfern, PhD. Associate Vice President Ocean Conservation Science, Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium.
Jeff Kneebone, PhD. Senior Scientist Fisheries Science and Emerging Technologies Program, Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium.
John DePersenaire, Director of Government Affairs and Sustainability at Viking Yachts and a career fisheries expert
Jim Hutchinson Jr., NJ/DE Managing Editor The Fisherman magazine.
Captain Greg Cudnik, owner, Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom NJ and longtime lead contributor to fishinglbi.com.
Gib Brogan, Fisheries Campaign Director for Oceana.
John Mansolillo, Northeast Marine Affairs Manager for Orsted energy and retired Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator for the U.S. Coast Guard.
Ryan Ferguson, Head of Corporate Communications for Orsted energy
Where Will They Go?
Despite what you may have heard from politicians, as of now, there are only seven operating wind turbines off the East Coast. Two pilot turbines off Virginia and five off Block Island, Rhode Island. Aside from Virginia, the bulk of currently planned turbines—ultimately as many as 3,500—will be particularly concentrated from New Jersey to southern Rhode Island and Massachusetts in mostly mud-bottomed waters from 30 to 200 feet deep inside the Atlantic continental shelf. Most of these 300-plus-foot diameter turbine blades will not be visible from the coastline, but some will—particularly if you’re at a higher coastal vantage point.
Navigation
Unlike Europe, where turbines are closely spaced and vessel operation is restricted among them, most U.S. turbines will have a mile of space between them. Recreational boats and fishing boats that aren’t trawling will generally be allowed to navigate and fish among and around the turbines—but not tie off to them. “We agreed, especially up here in New England, across developers and with the Coast Guard, and as part of these discussions back in the late teens, that all the wind farms in the U.S. would essentially be somewhere around a mile apart in a grid pattern,” said Orsted’s Ferguson. “And we bring people into the simulators, commercial fisherman, sailors, pilots and masters of large vessels, the average boater … and no one says, ‘Wow, that’s way harder than I thought.’ They get into the simulator. And they look, it’s a mile. It’s huge.”
Still, that doesn’t allay all the doubt. Hutchinson and Cudnik expressed concern for boats out among that grid of turbines during foggy weather or heavy wind and seas. The spinning turbines would too, they pointed out, present a real issue should a helicopter need to reach a vessel. And indeed, the turbine will, of course, present a series of obstacles—even if they’re widely spaced—for any SAR craft.
Some fishermen have also raised alarm about radar interference—particularly an effect called multi-path interference—from the spinning turbines. While there may be some concern with this among older radar units, Furuno Senior Product Manager Jeff Kunz, said he’s seen no issues with his company’s products, “I have basically asked the Furuno guys in Europe the same question four years ago,” he said. “Basically, nothing has changed on our side. I have never heard a peep about radar interference from anyone at Furuno in Europe where they’ve been dealing with windmills for the past decade. There are fleets of Furuno-equipped vessels servicing wind farms.” A representative from another company we queried said that turbine interference has not presented much concern yet either. Still, Hutchinson opined that should any of the million fisherman who head offshore from New York or New Jersey during an average Summer have radar issues amidst turbines in foggy weather, they could be in for “a nightmare.”
Fishing and Angling Traffic
No matter how you slice it, wind farms will have an effect on fishing along the U.S. northeastern seaboard. Some of those effects could well be positive. Others, not so much. Viking’s John DePersenaire and other fishermen have expressed concern over traffic bottlenecks—particularly during nice summer days or offshore fishing tournaments, when a slew of boats are heading to blue water for tuna and billfish. Orsted’s Ferguson said that unlike a net-pulling clam dragger that will have to change routes to avoid both towers and underwater cables, and won’t be able to fish some traditional grounds, most recreational boats generally won’t be restricted—aside from having to pay much closer attention. Still, Dr. Kneebone said navigating your sportfisher through the 12 under construction towers off the South Park wind project at night is already no picnic. “Your radar is insane,” he said. “There’s so many targets. I’m driving, trying to go in between the turbines, there’s lights everywhere. It’s very confusing. And this is a person that has done this both as my profession and for pleasure for 20 years. This is just 12 turbines, but there are going to be hundreds spread over like, 100 miles, depending on where you’re going. So, it’s going to change, people are going to have to be more vigilant.”
Fisheries—Disruption, or better fishing?
Not surprisingly, wind turbine towers and the riprap that covers their bases and cables have been shown to generally have a positive impact on populations of bottom-dwelling species that congregate and seek shelter around “structure.” And that can, in turn, bring larger pelagic fish. That’s why the seafloor off the East Coast is now littered with fish-attracting sunken boats and old subway cars. But there is a substantial concern among anglers when it comes to a few keystone species, especially flounder, lobster and the larvae of some fish. Flounder and some crustaceans have been shown to avoid the electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by the high voltage cables that will be required to carry this electricity to shore. Will flounder actively avoid the thousands of miles of cabling that will link these towers and their shoreline connections? Will those cables affect their migration and distribution? And how will the construction of those towers affect that seafloor habitat? Studies in northern Europe have shown that European lobsters and sand eel larvae generally don’t seem to be disrupted by EMF, but American lobster and flounder have been shown to avoid the sort of fields these cables can create. To Hutchinson and Cudnik, this underscores the idea that we’re entering into a vast experiment without proper science to know that experiment’s effects. Indeed, the only U.S. test windfarm off Block Island is built in a rocky habitat entirely different from the mud where most turbines will be erected.
“They (the towers) have done what you would expect,” said Dr. Kneebone. “In terms of fisheries or reef effect, they’re aggregating species that like structure. Lots of recreational fishing happens there. But it’s a drop in the bucket. What we’re looking at is so much bigger. In my opinion, you can’t even really learn much from the Block Island wind farm, because it’s such a small footprint compared to what is proposed. Basically, the entire ecosystem has been leased for development. Where Block Island is literally one tiny line, maybe a mile or two of five turbines, we’re talking about 1,000 square miles.”
There are other potentially disruptive forces at work. First, one of the most important factors that enhances northeastern fisheries productiveness is the warm/cold boundary layer that develops during the summer and the mix of species from cold water bottom dwellers to warm water pelagics, that cruise in on the Gulf Stream. If you add scores of fixed structures, how might subsurface currents mix and churn that water—affecting not only the temperature variations, but turbidity that can drop a fisherman’s take to nothing?
Orsted’s Mansolillo pointed to a study published in October by the National Academies of Sciences that said, among other things, that “Given the limited studies to date, hydrodynamic effects of turbines will be difficult to isolate from the much larger variability introduced by natural and other anthropogenic sources (including climate change).” The Academies recommended a deep and detailed study on effects of the turbines in the Nantucket Shoals area precisely because so little is known about how turbines will affect a host of natural processes along the Eastern Seaboard. Further, the report pointed out that it will be very tough, in some cases to determine whether a change in thermoclines or salinity is affected by larger climatic factors or wind farms themselves. “The quote of the National Academies was like between one and two turbine diameters downstream of the current could be expected (for turbidity and mixing)” said Mansolillo. “But as far as, like, systems level impacts, the science is really out.”
But this is why, to Hutchinson and his allies, there should first be a single smaller, but still substantial wind farm built before these projects are brought online at the scale currently planned.
“Let’s put a big one of these facilities offshore and study the heck out of it—and see what a 50- to 60-turbine array will actually do,” said Hutchinson. “So that five, six years from now, we know exactly what we’re looking at.”
Marine Mammals
And then there are dolphins and whales.
To hear some politicians spin it, whales are somehow being killed by windmills. When they say this, wind proponents can then correctly argue that claim is false because there are only seven turbines, with Block Island’s nearshore and posing basically no threat. But might something else be at work? Hutchinson, Cudnik and others they’ve been working with have questioned whether there might instead be correlation with the sonar testing that maps the seafloor for these projects. Seafloor mapping sonar is an order of magnitude less disruptive than the 250 db “air cannons” used to search deep beneath the seafloor for oil and gas, but it’s still very loud and disruptive—in 2021 Cudnik was aboard a boat that recorded pings as high as 154 decibels from a survey vessel—that’s four dB above what NOAA had permitted (a diesel sportfisher running wide open might generate 70-db in the cabin). NOAA has insisted there’s no evidence that these fatalities are coming from that surveying, and companies like Orsted must follow strict guidelines, post whale watchers and cease all activity if whales are spotted. But even they acknowledge that the sounds can be disruptive to whale behavior.
“So that to me is if you’re running around on the offshore grounds back and forth, zigzagging boats all over the place with that confusing mess, sure, you’re going to be harassing whales,” said Hutchinson. “And if the whales’ communication effort is stymied and they swim into a ship, how did the whale die? Well, I heard a congressman say something along the lines of—I’m at a barbecue for the Fourth of July and the fireworks start, my puppy gets spooked and runs away and drowns in a creek. How did the puppy die? Did he die by drowning, or was it because of the fireworks?”
Oceana’s Gib Brogan, said that the organization still supports these offshore wind projects because we need to rapidly decarbonize our energy sources, but Oceana has also been frustrated with what they see as insufficient science and communication between NOAA scientists and the Bureau of Energy Management, which manages turbine farm leases. Last year, Sean Hayes, Chief of the Protected Species Branch of NOAA’s Northeast fisheries center made a proposal. “There’s a huge sandbar sticking off the bottom of Nantucket Island called Nantucket shoals,” said Brogan. “And there’s a collection of currents and nutrients that makes the soup that creates whale food. The concern is that the presence of these turbines will upset that balance, make it so it’s not valuable for the whales, and then that will make them have to go search for food somewhere else. So, they put this idea of, put a 20-kilometer buffer between their target shoals and the first turbines, let those effects dissipate. Our thinking is that makes a lot of sense. It separates the installations from the whale habitat. And if we learn that these effects aren’t that bad, then maybe most developers can build on that other section. So far, that strategy has fallen on deaf ears. They’re very aggressive on this. And they’ve declined to even analyze that kind of strategy. So, we have two federal agencies that are disagreeing on how to manage the effects of these projects. And we’re in the middle there. We have settled on the strategy of finding the coexistence. We strongly believe wind needs to be developed in the U.S. but it needs to be done in a responsible way that allows coexistence with marine life.”
Still, one longtime activist I spoke with who asked to remain anonymous said that many people who support, and even work for Oceana, believe they’re taking the wrong tack because there’s not yet enough science and the right whale population is at such a point where a single human-induced fatality is now considered catastrophic.
“The one last thing that I would stress to you is this is the concept of green energy, reduction in fossil fuel and emissions, it’s all good stuff,” said Hutchinson. “But I’m troubled by the fact that too many people have this assumption. Oh it’s New Jersey, it’s industrial. No, it’s not. We’re talking about industrializing our oceans, I’d never thought we’d be at that point. That’s what this is. Industrializing the last, greatest frontier in the United States—on our planet? It’s shocking.”
View the original article to see embedded media.
This article originally appeared in the January 2024 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
Source: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/at-sea/special-report-wind-farms-and-their-effect-on-boating
