A submerged concern: offshore wind cables – Martha’s Vineyard Times

As offshore wind turbines undergo construction in waters south of the Vineyard, and with some already standing and delivering power, the debates on the Island regarding the industry continue.

And amid the conversations over a necessity for clean energy, and whether the projects are a blow to the Vineyards natural charm coupled with a mix of online misinformation campaigns against the offshore wind industry one subject has remained submerged: undersea cables.

While cables which connect wind farms to the New England power grid on the mainland arent the flashiest parts of an offshore wind farm operation, some are nervous about what may lie ahead with them.

John Keene, president of the Marthas Vineyard Fishermens Preservation Trust, told the Times that some in the fishing industry are nervous about how the electromagnetic field from the cables can affect marine life.

Keene said the concern is that the fields emitted from cables could act like a fence, particularly for migratory species, and impact the behavior of marine species.

Theres a lot of unknowns, he said.

The worry also stems from how many cables would be in areas not far from the Vineyard, including a spot near Edgartown called Muskeget Channel. Seven cables are planned to go through one of the channels corridors.

The collective energy hasnt been met yet, Keene said regarding the number of cables that would be on the seafloor once the offshore wind farms planned south of the Island are completed.

There are nearly 10 offshore wind projects underway or proposed in seas south of the Vineyard, which have terms of around three decades per lease area.

Among the various offshore wind projects within 30 miles of the Vineyard, the 130-megawatt South Fork Wind project, located around 20 miles southwest of Marthas Vineyard, is the only one that has completed construction so far, and is delivering power through cables that come to shore in Long Island.

For Vineyard Wind 1, an over 800-megawatt, 62-turbine offshore wind farm in the works, overseen by Avingrid, the cables come close to Edgartown.

Vineyard Wind 1s 220-kilovolt undersea cable slithers over 15 miles through a corridor in Muskeget Channel before making landfall in Barnstable, partially passing through waters under Edgartown jurisdiction.

And its not the only undersea cable laid by Avangrid in the channel. The corridor, generally 3,800 feet in width, was previously widened by around 1,000 feet by developers for cable laying, and may be completely filled out by cables stemming from Avangrid projects, including a lease area for a proposed offshore wind operation collectively known as New England Wind.

An Avangrid press release touting the projects potential economic and environmental benefits to the region says that Park City Wind is returning as the 791-megawatt New England Wind 1 and Commonwealth Wind is coming back as the 1,080-megawatt New England Wind 2.

The cables for Vineyard Wind 1 and New England Wind projects are each around 11 inches in diameter, and will be, or currently are, buried five to eight feet below the sea floor. Despite the small amount of space the cables themselves would take up, Avangrid representatives and consultants have said that a large amount of space between 164 feet and 328 feet is needed between each cable to keep them from damaging one another, and for repair vessels.

The New England Wind 2 connector cable which consists of 275-kilovolt cables is currently under review by the Marthas Vineyard Commission. During a public hearing on April 11, the only public comments to the commission came from board members of Vineyard Power, a partner of Vineyard Wind.

Although commissioners have yet to make a final decision, there were questions whether the cable construction would affect marine life, and who would be liable if something went awry while laying the cables.

Even if the MVC approves the project, Avangrid will still have more steps ahead. Edgartown conservation assistant Kara Shemeth tells the Times the cable project would return to the towns conservation commission after undergoing MVC review.

And the approval process may not encounter smooth sailing with the Edgartown conservation commission. The conservation commission had denied permitting undersea cables for Vineyard Wind 1 and the former Park City Wind project, although the states Department of Environmental Protection ultimately reversed these decisions.

Both times, the conservation commission expressed concerns over potential environmental impacts from the cables. A representative of the Edgartown commission was not immediately available for comment.

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) spokesperson Brian Walch told the Times that the agency works closely with tribes, government agencies, and a wide range of other ocean users to make sure offshore energy development is done in a responsible manner that would avoid or mitigate potential impacts to offshore environment and marine life.

As for the electromagnetic fields, Walch said that the cables are wrapped in sheathes that reduces the emission of these fields. Additionally, Walch said, the fields decay quickly with distance from cables, and burying them reduces potential exposure.

Regarding the impact on marine species, electromagnetic fields exist naturally in the ocean, but are also generated by other types of cables, like those for telecommunication. Additionally, the power company Eversource has undersea cables connecting the Island with the mainland for power distribution that make landfall in Tisbury, Oak Bluffs, and Falmouth.

BOEM also states that the alternating current from the offshore wind cables in Southern New England will generate weak EMF at frequencies outside the known range of detection by electrosensitive and magnetosensitive fishes.

Walch said while some species, like skates, sharks, and lobsters, are sensitive to electromagnetic fields, detrimental effects to populations are not expected.

Some marine species are observed to respond to EMF, but the fields do not negatively impact their movement, Walch said.

Developers for the New England Wind 2 connector cable project also said there would be no permanent changes caused by the construction. However, laying the cables may require dredging more than 100,000 cubic yards of sand, which may kill some shellfish, like surf clams and young blue mussels. MVC staff stated during the meetings it could take up to four years for the affected sea life to recover and recolonize, depending on the seafloor composition. Maritime navigation and fishing activities near the cable-laying area will also likely be impacted while construction takes place.

Island commercial fisherman Wes Brighton told the Times that the number of undersea cables would be an unprecedented amount for the waters near the Vineyard, adding it may be too early to tell exactly how local waters will be impacted.

To speculate as to what the impacts and the damages are, theres no empirical data that you can be sure of what the outcome is, so its very problematic from a mitigation perspective, he said, adding he feels the potential impact could be catastrophic.

But Brighton also said this remains uncertain until more time has passed observing the areas for changes. He will be on notice during the upcoming commercial conch and squid seasons, after the cables have been laid.

The connector cable project representatives also stated there would be no damages to undersea archaeological sites, a concern The Times has heard from the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) before. Walch said BOEM encourages developers to avoid or minimize impacting underwater cultural resources, and the agency consults tribal nations on a government-to-government basis for input about sites of significance.

Walch noted that BOEM requires developers to follow their procedures to preserve submerged archaeological sites and cultural resources during construction, and to add buffers around these areas.

Also, protocols are in place for ceasing construction in the vicinity of an unanticipated archaeological discovery, as well as for notifying BOEM for the discovery immediately, Walch said.

Avangrid-owned cables arent the only ones that may be coming close to the Vineyard. While SouthCoast Wind is proposing a cable that runs south of Nomans Land and making landfall in Somerset, another cable proposed for its second phase could be connected in Falmouth, with a cable route that would run even closer to the Island than Vineyard Wind 1s cable.

While fishermen have been appreciative of Vineyard Wind coordinating before construction, some are unsure whether other companies with projects south of the Island would be as proactive.

Each company handles how they do outreach differently, Keene said, pointing out that various projects were in different permitting stages.

Some companies havent done much outreach, Keene noted, like representatives for South Fork Wind. South Fork Wind is jointly owned by rsted and Eversource. The two companies also jointly owned Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind, although Eversource relinquished its shares of these projects earlier this year.

Although not the only company owning projects in waters south of the Vineyard, rsted is the one company that rivals Avangrid in the number of projects planned in the maritime region.

Addressing some of the concerns raised, an rsted spokesperson stated, Weve taken a number of steps to ensure the coexistence of the commercial fishing industry with offshore wind often by being directly responsive to requests from the fishing community. Our outreach work has included fishers in Massachusetts, and specifically on Marthas Vineyard.

The spokesperson pointed to several ways rsted has engaged with the fishing community, like a direct compensation program to commercial fishermen impacted by the South Fork Wind project, committing over $3 million in coastal community funds in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and committing $2.3 million toward a navigational enhancement and training program to help commercial vessels acquire navigational equipment and access to professional mariner training.

When asked about the concerns surrounding undersea cables, Avangrid chief development officer Ken Kimmell pointed out that the offshore wind cables would not be the first of their kind. This happens literally all over the world, Kimmell said.

Kimmel emphasized that when offshore wind projects are planned out, developers are asked to designate a corridor to place the cables rather than laying them all over. He said these areas are studied intensely, and that Muskeget Channel was ideal as a cable-laying location because it was not used as intensely as a fishery.

Additionally, Kimmel said Avangrid would employ jet plowing, which he described as a cable-laying method that would have a minimized impact on the environment.

The record of decision from BOEM goes into detail about the cable-laying process, Kimmel said, and added that Avangrid had essentially received the green light from state entities for its projects.

Weve addressed all relevant environmental concerns, he said.

Back on the Vineyard, Brighton emphasized that fishermen are not climate change deniers. Some in the public have pointed at fishermen as climate deniers for their outspoken criticism of the offshore wind industry. Rather, Brighton and other fishermen wish that more consideration and collaboration had taken place before the offshore wind projects were approved.

He pointed to how Vineyard Winds compensation program requires commercial fishermen to have fished in the lease area for at least three years between 2016 and 2022, but fisheries experience booms and busts that can keep commercial fishing operations in other parts of the ocean.

As fishermen, were witnessing change, Brighton said.

See more here:

A submerged concern: offshore wind cables - Martha's Vineyard Times