oceanlove

  The development of the offshore wind energy sector is creating an entirely new use of the U.S. ocean. The federal government and several states are pursuing an ambitious schedule for developing offshore wind energy. As part of the Biden – Harris Administration’s clean energy and climate mitigation priorities, the President set a goal of responsibly deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy nationwide by 2030 while protecting biodiversity and promoting ocean co-use, and this is intended to be a pathway to developing 110 gigawatts by 2050.1 Interdependencies of the research foci of the NMFS West Coast Offshore Wind Energy Strategic Science Plan.Graphic by Su Kim, NMFS/NWFSC. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is the lead federal agency for offshore energy siting, leasing, and permitting. NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, or NOAA Fisheries) is responsible for the stewardship of the nation’s living marine resources and their habitat. BOEM seeks consultati...

NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) is providing important information to aid in tracking the path of wind turbine blade parts after the offshore wind energy company, Vineyard Wind, noticed a broken blade on one of its wind turbines offshore of Martha’s Vineyard on July 13. The Northeast Region Scientific Support Coordinator with OR&R's Emergency Response Division was contacted on July 15 to provide trajectory information to assist with recovering pieces of the broken blade. About one third of the blade (approximately 120 feet) fell into the water, with three large pieces recovered. At that time, smaller fiberglass sections and pieces of the blade, some less than one square foot in size, remained in the water. Trajectory estimates produced by the OR&R modeling team predicted pieces of the blade could make landfall at Nantucket by July 15. Utilizing NOAA’s trajectories, response personnel were sent to Nantucket to assess the beaches. Upon their a...