Nantucket group appeals to Supreme Court to end offshore wind projects and protect endangered whales

A group of Nantucket, Massachusetts, residents are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court against the industrialization of parts of the Atlantic Ocean, where they say offshore wind farms – developed with the approval of the federal government – are putting an endangered whale species at risk of sinking .

The group Nantucket Residents Against Turbines argues in its petition to the Supreme Court that “the federal government has lost sight of its legal obligations to protect endangered species that will be directly affected by the construction of thousands of wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean.”

They argue that the federal agencies that approved leasing the waterfront to wind turbine companies excluded certain dates in their analysis in favor of offshore wind development.

“Despite the agencies’ explicit legal obligation to consider all ‘best available information’ regarding the impacts that their actions may have on an endangered or threatened species and those habitats, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Bureau of Ocean “Energy Management (BOEM) did not consider the cumulative impacts of other planned projects when approving and issuing permits for construction of the Vineyard Wind 1 project.”

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The petition to the Supreme Court is the latest wave of opposition to offshore wind development, accelerated at the behest of the Biden-Harris administration, which has set a goal of providing 30 gigawatts of offshore energy by 2030.

Consistent with this goal, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which President Biden signed into law in 2022, provided millions of dollars in tax breaks for green energy production contracts.

Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between foreign companies Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is the country’s largest offshore wind energy project off the coast of New England – 15 miles from Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The project was one of the IRA’s first beneficiaries.

Vineyard Wind boasted of a “first-of-its-kind tax equity package” of $1.2 billion for commercial-scale offshore wind with three U.S.-based banks, calling it “the largest single asset tax equity financing and the first for “Commercial scale offshore wind energy”. Project.”

“The Vineyard Wind 1 project is the first of the administration’s ‘coordinated steps’ to construct approximately 30 wind turbine projects along the Atlantic Coast that, when completed, will include thousands of turbines covering millions of acres of flooded federal land,” the petition states States.

“Vineyard Wind LLC has constructed or partially constructed 47 of the 62 approved wind turbines, with each turbine spaced one nautical mile apart. When completed, each turbine stands 853 feet above the water and is nearly three times the size of the Statue of Liberty.”

The petition states that 47 turbines so far “have already begun to have negative impacts on the Nantucket community, the marine environment and marine species habitat.”

“Although not taken into account in any environmental impact analysis, problems with the turbines have already begun. In July 2024, a large portion of a 350-foot-long fiberglass and PVC blade broke off one of Vineyard Wind’s turbines and landed in the water, and parts of it fell into the water “The blade washed ashore and littered Nantucket beaches,” it says.

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The petition argues that around the time of the Vineyard Wind 1 Biological Opinion, BOEM had entered into over 25 offshore wind leases (on which one or more projects are being built). However, in the biological statement, NMFS openly stated that it did not consider the cumulative impacts of these projects.

The North Atlantic right whale, which has been threatened with extinction for more than 100 years, will “bear the brunt of the federal government’s shortcut of the environmental review process,” the petition says.

“Despite the obvious impacts that the construction of wind turbines will have along the migratory route of the North Atlantic right whale and now as a year-round habitat, the authorities only assessed the impacts caused by the project itself, ignoring obvious impacts of all other planned projects Atlantic.” , it says.

The petition argues that the Supreme Court should hear this case to decide whether to split the circuit between the Ninth and First Circuit decisions on this matter, which conflict with each other.

“The petitioners ask this court to review the important issue presented in this petition to clarify the circuit split and to provide guidance to lower courts that will soon face the same question of how to protect endangered species while trying to do so “To achieve goals in the field of renewable energies,” it says.

From the fishing industry’s argument that offshore wind turbines are unfairly hindering their business to the unprecedented whale deaths and the Nantucket blade disaster, criticism has mounted in recent months.

But even as public favor is waning, government officials are still pushing for the industrialization of record areas in the Atlantic Ocean.

Earlier this month, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy announced the largest single offshore wind procurement in the state’s history, pursuing purchase agreements with SouthCoast Wind, New England Wind and Vineyard Wind II.

Rebecca Tepper, secretary of the state Office of Energy and Environment, said the state has said, “Offshore wind is our future, and it is important that we build that future today.”

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“By making great progress with projects now, we will lead the nation in the global race for developers, ships, materials and expertise,” she said.

Annie Hawkins, executive director of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, explains why wind energy production is undeterred by environmental warnings and concerns and that offshore wind companies and government agencies work hand in hand.

“For a long, long time we have been wagging the dog when it comes to wind developers, energy companies and utilities and investment banks and everyone else that is pushing offshore wind energy from a private sector perspective and from a business perspective “It is an investment with economic interest, that goes far beyond the environmental aspect and considerations around offshore wind energy,” said Hawkins.

“This is no surprise to me because this whole thing has been prepared from the relationships to the staffing of the offshore wind energy companies. There is a real revolving door with federal and state agencies and offshore wind companies. The whole thing was set up.” “A very, very rapid takeover of the oceans. So they’re just going to keep going no matter what,” Hawkins said.

A recent report from the Cato Institute concluded that while the offshore wind industry receives some of the largest tax breaks, its “high costs, which require significant – and increasing – tax and ratepayer subsidies, will increase electricity rates and reduce electricity consumption. “

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The report also warned of the economic deficits caused by offshore wind energy.

“It is impossible for a system of green energy tax credits and other subsidies to increase economic growth,” the report concludes. “

“Consumers and taxpayers are being forced to subsidize offshore wind jobs, costing millions of dollars per job.” “Each year – far more than workers are paid – fails to increase overall economic growth and employment,” it says.

Fox News Digital reached out to BOEM and NOAA but did not receive a response by publication time.